Viranaemia
by Liris
Summary: Haven has been struck down by a plague. The People once more call for Artemis's assitance, but this may be beyond even his abilities. Can he find the cure, before it's too late? Spoilers for probably every book, eventual H/A. Rated T for violence.
1. Prologue

This idea came to me as I was re-reading the first book. Anyone else notice the parallels between fairies and a certain other race of mythical creatures? You can probably all guess what I'm referring to, but I'm not going to name them in this chapter. Well, it's more a prologue, to give you an idea for the feel of the piece. I've got four more chapters written, and I'm working on the rest, but I won't post them unless you tell me to.  
Skullduck: She's mean like that.  
Me: Shut up. This is my disclaimer, the muse isn't supposed to put in an appearance.  
Skullduck: You're not doing much disclaiming.  
Me: Spoilsport. Ok, I don't own any of the characters, named or otherwise, in this chapter, or in any of the rest of it, probably. I also don't own Italy (if you want to know why that's relevant, review and ask for more chapters!)  
Skullduck: You're really evil, you know that?  
Me: *giggles* Yeah, it's fun!  
Skullduck: I'll shut her up. We own nothing. Please, R&R! Enjoy!

* * *

They stood in the shadows, watching the revellers with haunted eyes. Their whites were bloodshot and yellowed, Their pupils were slitted and narrow, and Their irises were a deep burgundy red. Red as blood. Red as the dress barely covering the night's star attraction. She was in the centre of the field, gyrating to the thumping bass, surrounded by some of the best looking men in a hundred mile radius. Her hair, only two shades darker than the dress, swung behind her, covering far more of her back than the garment did of her front. No male could take their eyes off her. Neither could They. All that pure, smooth flesh showing, all those glistening droplets of sweat highlighting her body. The moonlight reflected off her like a disco ball. She was crying out for Their lips, Their tongues, Their teeth. As one, They stood and moved forward.

* * *

It was the party of the year. Skylar Peat, the glamorous movie star who'd portrayed Holly Short in the film 'The Arctic Incident' had just released her latest hit piece. It was a follow-up, showing the events that had (supposedly) transpired in the Spiro tower, and had already set new box-office records. It had only been out six hours. As the lady of honour so far as the plot was concerned, Holly had been given two tickets to the after-show party. She'd passed them to Trouble in disgust. She'd heard that there was a romance scene in the film between her and Artemis, and had no wish to talk to the TV cameras about it. Trouble, in turn, had passed them to Grub, who had delightedly asked the next girl he'd seen to be his date. She'd agreed, but only so that she could meet Skylar face to face. Hence she'd abandoned Grub as soon as they'd been cleared for entry, and he was now standing alone at the bar, wondering why he'd bothered to go.

The movie producers had decked out one of the fairy-made 'parks' with lights and speakers, and set up a pixie run bar over at the far side. With the sunstrips set to midnight, the atmosphere would have been romantic had it not been for the unholy row the speakers were providing. And, of course, for Them. They rushed out of Their hiding place and launched Themselves at the guests. In seconds the atmosphere changed from excitement to terror. Ms Peat, the redhead in the almost-dress was the first casualty. At the bar, Grub was accosted by two of Them. He went down screaming for his Mummy. He wasn't the only one. Fairies ran every which way, calling for help. No one came. No one could hear over the music.

Years later, when fairies looked back on that night, they all said the same thing.

The party was to die for.


	2. Chapter 1

OKay, so here's the first official chapter. I think I got them all in character, but I'm not 100% certain, so let me know. Before we get into the whole disclaimer bit...  
Skullduck: Oh, so you're actually going to do one this time then? That makes a change.  
Me: Shut up and stop interrupting. Like I was saying, I have to thank Northern Grunge for agreeing to check this for me. Unfortunately, I'm posting this before I hear back from her...  
Skullduck: Because you're too impatient.  
Me: Yes, thank you. That's enough from the muse. Back to what I was saying, any faults are mine and mine alone. Well, mine and Skullduck's.  
Skullduck: Hey!  
Me: Moving on. I don't own Artemis Fowl or any of the characters in this story.  
Skullduck: But I own Liris's soul.  
Me: What!? When did we make that arrangement?  
Skullduck: It was in the contract.  
Me: *glares* I didn't sign anything...  
Skullduck: Anyway, please, R&R. We both appreciate it.

* * *

Holly flashed her badge at the young officer guarding the door. The sprite waved her through with a sad smile. She pushed open the glass door and stood next to the elf at the viewing station. The IC unit at Haven General Hospital was overrun. Among the many injured faces, she could see Ms Peat, several serving pixies, and one LEP officer. Grub was hooked up to an IV drip, and his vital signs were weak. No one had yet died of their wounds, but then again, the wounds weren't the problem.

Holly hesitated for a second, glancing at the face of her companion. Trouble's eyes were riveted on his brother's form. He wasn't allowed into the IC unit itself until the tests were completed, so he'd stood out here, on this side of the glass partition for the last six hours. As the only senior officer in on time that morning, the heavy duties had fallen to Holly, so she'd spent the day filling the Commander's shoes as best she could. She was exhausted. Foaly had taken one look at her and demanded that she take a break, so she'd decided to check in on Grub. And, more accurately, on Trouble. He was taking the incident particularly badly.

"Any news?" she asked quietly. Trouble blinked but didn't reply. He didn't need to. The severity of the situation was written all over his expression.

The glass doors opened, and both elves turned to face the entrant. The doctor nodded courteously to Holly, then spoke to Trouble.

"They're secured now. If you'll use the disinfectant spray, you can go in and see your brother."

Trouble nodded and smiled bravely at Holly.

"It'll be alright."

Her heart broke for him. He entered the spray booth, where a disinfectant would be applied to his clothing and skin to kill any bugs he may be carrying on his person. Holly left him to it. She didn't much like hospitals. This whole situation reminded her too much of her mother.

She returned to Police Plaza. It was as busy as ever, but the atmosphere was much more subdued. Their Commander was having a minor breakdown, and one of their own was in a critical condition in HGH. To top it all off, the blast walls around Haven had been lowered. The city was in official quarantine.

Holly strode into the Ops Booth without knocking. Foaly was sitting in his specially customised swivel chair, tapping away at his computer.

"Tell me we have something" Holly said, praying to whatever gods were listening that it was something good. Something curable.

"Hello Foaly, how are you? Carrot, Foaly? Why, yes, thank you, don't mind if I do" he retorted, standing and trotting over to her side. She massaged her temples.

"I don't have time to babysit your ego right now Foaly."

The centaur snorted.

"No Commander ever does."

Holly looked up sharply at his words.

"Commander?"

He nodded.

"In view of current circumstances, the Council has granted Kelp compassionate leave. They've elected you Acting Commander."

He pressed the golden badge into her palm.

"Congratulations."

Holly stared at the pin in her hand. Commander. True, she'd fantasized about this, about showing those corporate high-ups that females could be just as good LEP officers as males, but now she found that she didn't want it. Not like this, not under these circumstances. Not if it meant that this nightmare situation was actually real. She gulped and pinned the badge to her lapel. It was about what was best for the People, wasn't that what Root had said? Right now, the People needed someone in charge. She hoped it got easier. If it continued at the breakneck pace she'd been improvising with all morning, she thought she'd snap under the pressure. Maybe that was why Root had yelled so much. Stress-relief.

She took a deep breath and looked at Foaly. He smiled and nodded at her proudly.

"What do we have?" she asked again. If he noticed the slight crack in her voice, he didn't comment on it.

"I've got the blood test results from Grub and the others."

He opened the file on the computer and transferred the feed to the large plasma screen. Holly read it twice quickly, then swore under her breath.

"Get me a shuttle to the surface, Foaly. Now."

"Where?"

She looked at him exasperatedly.

"Where do you think?"

* * *

Artemis was bored. Ever since the time-travelling fiasco three months ago, his life had been incredibly dull. His mother, after hearing exactly what he had been up to for the last six years, had refused to let him out of her sight. It was stifling.

When it got to the point where you needed to risk your life to have fun, thought Artemis, you needed to re-evaluate your priorities. He checkmated the computer easily. It was on the hardest mode. Really. Myles could beat it. He set up the game again, and sacrificed a few pawns on purpose in an attempt to make the game harder. It didn't work. It still wasn't enough to distract him from his thoughts.

It wasn't the risk he was missing. He was quite happy without the danger he had been in periodically for the last few years. It was the adventure he wanted, and the company that it brought. Or maybe it was just the company.

Holly had been stuck belowground since the whole Opal-escaping-the-kraken incident, so he hadn't seen her in months. He'd attempted to call her a few times, and had managed to discern that she'd been promoted to Major, but she was so busy that none of their conversations had lasted longer than two minutes. All the major events in his teenage years had involved Holly in some way or other. She was his best friend, and he missed her.

He closed the chess programme and opened his email account. Holly may not have time to talk, but perhaps she'd find time to write. To his surprise, there was an email waiting for him. It was off Holly, labelled 'Urgent'. He suppressed a groan. Why did she only contact him when the whole of civilisation was under threat?

The message read:

'Artemis,

I need your help. I'm on my way up to you now; I should be there in an hour or so. Get that big brain of yours warmed up, this may be beyond even your capabilities.

Holly.'

Artemis sat back in his chair. That did not sound good. He glanced at the computer clock. Holly had sent the email an hour ago. She'd be here soon. He stood and checked his reflection in the window. His hair was a mess. He ran his fingers through it, trying to flatten it a little, and made it worse.

"Vanity, Mud Boy?"

He span around too quickly, and caught himself on the desk to stop from falling over.

"Holly. How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough."

Her tone was teasing, but her expression was tired. Artemis frowned.

"Holly? Are you alright?"

She sighed and fingered her lapel.

"No, Artemis, I'm not. But that's the least of our worries. Where's Butler? I don't want to explain this twice."

"He's in the kitchen, but..."

Holly turned her back and left before he could finish. He stood stunned for a couple of seconds, wondering what was wrong. What could be this bad? He hadn't seen Holly look this exhausted since Root had died. He followed her downstairs and found Butler handing her a steaming cup of camomile tea. She thanked him and sank into the nearest chair. Butler sat opposite her and gestured to the badge on her lapel.

"Promotion, Captain?"

"Major" Artemis interceded. In the fuss his mother had created, he'd forgotten to tell Butler.

"Commander" Holly said quietly. Both humans stared at her.

"Congratulations" Butler said warily. She hadn't sounded happy when she'd made the announcement. She nodded.

"Thanks."

There was silence for several seconds. Artemis leant against the kitchen table facing Holly.

"What's wrong?"

She sighed and pushed the untouched tea onto the table.

"Gentlemen, we have a problem."

* * *

Trouble entered the IC unit and sat gingerly on the end of his brother's bed. Grub didn't stir, probably due to the IV drip sending sedative into his bloodstream. Trouble touched his hand gently.

* * *

Holly finished explaining about the party and the attack, and sat back. She took a long drink of her tea, which by now was barely lukewarm. Artemis sat in the chair to her left.

"I still don't know why you need me. Surely the magic will heal them?"

Holly shook her head miserably.

"The beings that attacked them were carrying a virus."

She ran a hand through her hair, mussing it almost as badly as Artemis's.

"The virus feeds on magic. It drains the host's powers, giving them severe withdrawal symptoms. One of these is anaemia."

* * *

Trouble brushed his thumb down the back of his brother's hand. It turned out that he kind of liked it when Grub whined.

* * *

"The host's biology changes as the virus takes over. When the magic is all but gone, it drives the host to infect someone else."

* * *

The IV drip in Grubs wrist came loose under Trouble's touch. Grub shifted slightly.

* * *

"It's passed on via a bite."

Artemis was looking at Holly oddly. She frowned.

"What?"

"This sounds a lot like a human myth."

"So does San D'Klass."

"Fair point Ca...Commander. But this one is more disturbing."

* * *

Grub's eyes opened. His pupils focussed on the figure sitting by his knees.

* * *

"Vampirism" Holly interrupted, nodding. "It's the human term for it."

Artemis took a breath and leaned forward in his chair.

"What do you need from me?"

Holly stared straight into his mismatched eyes. Under different circumstances, it might have been romantic.

"Up until now, there hasn't been any real need for a cure. Not that there is one. Even Koboi couldn't find one. But it hasn't really been an issue, a few isolated incidents, no real prevalence."

"But now you have an Intensive Care unit full of infected fairies, and it is a problem" Butler comprehended.

"A huge problem" Holly agreed. "They're all sedated, and are being given sim-blood to slow the progression of the infection, but it's not going to help ultimately. The virus is fatal."

* * *

Trouble stood to leave. He couldn't sit here all day and watch his brother sleep. He didn't notice the misplaced IV drip until he'd moved, and by then it was too late. Grub launched himself at his brother, growling. His irises had turned red.

* * *

"Fatal" Artemis repeated.

"Yes, Mud Boy, fatal. As in, they will all die" Holly snapped at him. Artemis realised only then how badly she was taking this. She'd called him 'Mud Boy', which she only did when she was teasing him or when she was mad at him. Right now, judging by the spite in her voice, it was definitely the latter. He decided not to take it personally. She'd had a lot of pressure heaped on her with this incident occurring and she had an officer in the IC unit, dying. She didn't mean to be cruel to him. At least, he hoped she didn't.

"In the human myths, vampires are immortal."

"I didn't say they'd die quickly, did I? They can live for up to a decade with this, though the withdrawal symptoms start immediately. Add into that that the fairy longevity prevents us from aging and you have the origins of your myth."

Artemis got up and started pacing. This was partly because it helped him think better, and partly to get out of range of Holly's fists. She hadn't hit him yet, but from her tone she soon would be. Butler decided to leave them to it, and took Holly's now empty cup to the sink. He couldn't help much in this situation until they actually got down to action. Besides, sometimes he thought that Holly's fists were the only things keeping Artemis's ego within normal bounds.

* * *

Trouble had always beaten Grub at any physical activity, but this time was different. Trouble was pinned to the floor under his brother's weight, and he couldn't move. He struggled, and got a cuff to the head for his efforts. Seeing stars, he was helpless to prevent Grub's teeth from closing around his shoulder.

* * *

Yeah, okay, so this was kind of just setting the scene, but I tried to put a little action in there for you as well. Let me know what you think about the split paragraph technique, and I can change it if you don't like it or if it's confusing.  
Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	3. Chapter 2

I only got two reviews last chapter *pouts*. I'm a little upset by that, but I'll let it pass this once. I'm giving you a treat - two chapters in one week. Please, reward me with reviews.  
Skullduck: Stop begging. It's kind of pathetic.  
Me: Fine. Here's chapter two, complete with Arty/Holly bickering and a Holly/Butler bonding session. Enjoy.

* * *

The medics ran into the IC unit armed with sedative patches. They stuck several to Grub, darting in just close enough to touch him before scampering away out of range again. The elf's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed on top of his brother. The medics waited a heartbeat to make sure he really was asleep, then dragged him back into his bed and reattached the drip. Trouble was lying prone on the floor, not quite unconscious but not coherent either. The doctor in charge leant over him, examining his shoulder. There was a perfect ring of teeth-marks, with blood pooling in each indent. The sprite backed away quickly as Trouble groaned and opened his eyes. He gestured for his helpers to sedate the semi-conscious Commander. He'd been bitten. He was infected.

"Gods help us" muttered the sprite, helping to haul Trouble onto the last empty bed in IC. They couldn't afford for any more incidents like this one to occur. They were fresh out of beds and, unless something drastic happened soon, fresh out of luck. Grub shouldn't have been at the attacking-people stage yet, he'd barely been infected for seven hours. The disease was progressing more rapidly than ever before, which meant that all the fairies in this room had months – maybe just days – to live.

* * *

Artemis had left the kitchen for the isolation of his study. He sat cross-legged on the mat and attempted to meditate. He didn't get very far, because Holly chose to follow him into the room.

"We don't have time for this, Artemis."

He opened one eye, irritated.

"And why not? You said yourself that they can live for a decade with the illness."

"I have almost ninety fairies in the IC unit, Fowl! If anyone else falls ill, there is nowhere for them to go. I need a cure, yesterday!"

"You are asking me to do something that has never been accomplished before, with precious little knowledge of the actual mechanisms of the virus. Even for me, Captain, that is not easy. Now, would you please leave? Give me a little peace?"

"It's Commander" she snapped, storming out of the study. Artemis shook his head and closed both eyes. She could be so temperamental sometimes. He understood why she was tightly wound right now, but did she really have to take it out on him? Especially as she was asking for his help. You'd think she could be a little bit more civil.

_Like you were to her, when you lied about your mother's illness?_ his conscience asked him. He told it to shut up. He had apologised for that. She had forgiven him.

_Why though? You don't deserve it._

He shook his head to remove such thoughts, and focussed solely on the task at hand. Maybe if he could do this for her, his conscience would leave him alone. And he and Holly could get back to being friends, rather than the somewhat frosty place they seemed to be at currently.

* * *

The house was quiet. Too quiet. Butler didn't like it. With both Holly and Artemis under one roof, there should have been some sort of noise, whether it be discussion of tactics, friendly banter or arguments. He left the kitchen to look at the cameras and walked straight into Holly, knocking her to the floor. He leant down and pulled her to her feet easily.

"Sorry, Commander."

She waved a hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

Butler crouched down to her level and looked her in the eye.

"You don't sound it."

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to get her emotions under control. She was biting the inside of her cheek, Butler noticed. She was upset.

"What did Artemis do now?" he asked quietly. Her eyes shot open.

"How did you...?"

"Call it instinct. I've known Artemis a long time, Commander. He has a way of getting under people's skin without realising it."

"One way of putting it" Holly muttered. Butler put one massive hand on her shoulder.

"If you need to talk, Commander, I'm here. I'm good at keeping secrets."

She nodded, but didn't say anything. Butler waited a few heartbeats, then removed his hand and stood.

"I'd better go and check on Artemis."

"Don't bother. He's meditating. He'll just send you away" she said scornfully. Butler sympathised with her. Artemis treated everyone like they were disposable when he was distracted. Butler supposed it was a response from his upbringing.

"Commander..."

"Call me Holly" she corrected him. "Trouble's the Commander. I'm just a stand-in whilst he's on leave."

"Holly. Artemis doesn't realise how he's acting sometimes."

"That's no excuse. How do you put up with him when he's like that, Butler?"

"I work out. It's great stress-relief. Oh, and Holly? Call me Dom."

"Dom?"

"Domovoi."

Her communicator rang, distracting the two from their first non-emergency related conversation. She pulled it from her belt and answered it curtly. Butler watched her reaction as the person on the other end spoke rapidly in gnomish. From the tone, he thought it was probably Foaly. It didn't look like he was imparting good news. Holly's complexion paled rapidly, and her eyes widened. He doubted highly that she was actually seeing him, however. She muttered a reply into the mouthpiece and snapped the contraption shut, looking vaguely shell-shocked. Butler spoke to her, concern lacing his voice.

"Holly?"

She shook herself out of her trance. She seemed to have forgotten that Butler was there.

"Umm, I've got to go."

She pushed past him without any further explanation, grabbed her wings from the table and flew out of the kitchen window, shielding as she went. He stared after her for a few seconds, then traipsed upstairs to find Artemis.

This was the first time in three months that Mrs Fowl had willingly left him alone in the house. She, Artemis senior and the twins had gone to Paris for the weekend. They were lucky that the emergency had fallen in this time frame. It was almost as if fate was on their side for once.

The study door was closed. Butler didn't knock. Holly was right, Artemis would send him away. Instead he went to the camera bank and checked the one in the study. Artemis wasn't on the rug, as he had expected. The boy was leaning against the computer desk, massaging his temples. He looked pained. Then he walked to the door, opened it, and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Butler heard him walk past the camera booth, calling for Holly.

"She left, Artemis."

The boy turned around at Butler's voice, questions in his eyes.

"She left? Why?"

Butler was tempted to bring up the boy's callous behaviour, but didn't.

"She got a call from Foaly, then she just took off."

Artemis nodded. He twisted the ring on his middle finger so it was facing his palm, then closed his fingers around it. He pressed a couple of buttons and held it up to his face. It rang a few times before Holly answered. She didn't allow him to speak, cutting him off before he could do more than utter her name.

"Not now Artemis. I have bigger problems."

There was a buzzing noise as she cut the connection. Artemis lowered his hand slowly. No matter how annoyed Holly was at him, she'd never reacted like that before.

"Sir? Is everything alright?"

"No, Butler. I can't do more than speculate about this virus without a sample. But apparently Holly isn't talking to me, so I can't ask her for one."

"Perhaps you should call Foaly and ask?"

Artemis nodded and returned to his study. This would be easier done over the computer. Besides, hacking normally took his mind off other things. Like the hurt feeling in his chest that Holly's rebuff had caused.

* * *

Holly streaked through the sky, urging her wings to go ever faster. She was breaking the rules, going this fast, but she didn't much care. Besides, she was the Commander. Who was going to discipline her?

She made it to Tara in record time, and swooped straight into the shuttle she'd caught up here. For once, the terminal was deserted. Everyone had been evacuated to Atlantis just before the blast walls had lowered.

Her communicator rang as she was strapping herself in. She ignored it for several seconds, finally bringing it to her ear. She knew who it was, and had no inclination to talk to him right then.

"Not now Artemis. I have bigger problems" she barked into the phone, then she shut it off and clipped it back to her belt. She had to get belowground, now.

Half an hour later, after a journey that would have terrified even the most kamikaze pilot, Holly was back in Haven. Foaly had opened the E1 channel, then closed it again right behind her. She burst into the Ops booth seconds after she'd landed, demanding information. Foaly didn't make a sarcastic response for once, pointing out exactly how grave the situation was. He had the video feed from the IC unit up on the screen. Right in the centre, drawing Holly's gaze like a magnet, was Trouble. He was still being hooked up to various tubes, even though the attack had been almost two hours ago. It had taken this long to get all the various bits and pieces shipped over from Atlantis. Haven General Hospital was out of supplies. Thanks to the magic doing much of their job for then, they only had the facilities to deal with eighty patients at any one time, and now they were six over the limit. All in one unit, too. Anyone who got ill from now on, stayed ill.

Holly felt panic clawing at her throat. All the way down here, she'd been in a state of dread, but it had been somehow buffered. What she was feeling now, this was real fear. How were they going to cope without Trouble? The LEP was losing Commanders at a terrifying rate; two down in the last five years. Holly shook her head, banishing those thoughts from her head. Trouble wasn't gone – yet. They needed that cure, and fast.

"...Artemis coming through for us?" Foaly asked. Holly blinked and turned to look at him. She'd missed most of what he'd just said. He repeated himself.

"Is Artemis working on some sort of cure? Did you explain things to him?"

"I don't know, Foaly. I don't know if he can do it. He's only human, after all. If you and Koboi can't manage, what chance does he stand?"

Foaly trotted over and enveloped Holly in a hug. She embraced him back, burying her face in his chest and allowing the tears to trickle down her face. They stood like that for several minutes, until Holly pulled herself together. Foaly released her and she wiped at her cheeks.

"It's gonna be ok, Holls. Fowl's come through for us before, and he'll do it again."

Foaly wasn't certain of that, but he didn't think this was the best time to say so. Holly nodded at his words.

"Yeah, you're right. Artemis is the smartest person I know, if anyone can do it, he can."

Foaly whinnied in mock hurt. Holly smiled at him.

"He's the smartest human, I meant."

Foaly pouted, but decided that she was right. She turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"To the hospital."

"They won't let you in, Holls. Since the incident, they've stopped all visitors."

"I'm not visiting. Artemis may be a genius, but he told me himself that he knows nothing about the way the virus works. I thought that if he had a sample, he could work better."

Foaly nodded.

"I'll patch your request through the hospital computers. They should let you in."

* * *

Artemis sat at the computer, staring at the error messages flashing across the screen. He couldn't get through to the LEP computers. Either Foaly had tightened his security a ridiculous amount, or all communications with the surface had been cut off. This, if the virus was as bad as Holly claimed, was entirely plausible. Foaly would have opened the channels to call her, then closed them again as she got back to Haven.

Artemis resisted the urge to slap the keyboard, and instead compiled a list of everything he knew about the virus. It wasn't much. He stared at the pitifully short list, then shut the computer down. This wasn't helping.

* * *

Holly stared at the sprite who was the chief medic, caressing her buzz baton lovingly. He swallowed and backed down.

"Alright, Commander Short, you can go in. But you are not to touch the patients."

"Fine."

The elfin doctor who'd earlier told Trouble that he could go in was volunteered to go in with her. Foaly had asked the hospital if Holly could get a couple of blood samples to take to Artemis, and the hospital had agreed reluctantly, on the condition that the blood was transported in unbreakable containers. They were a recent patent (Foaly's, obviously). Holly had swiped some from the countertop in the Ops Booth on her way over.

The doctor was not happy to be going into the room with the infected patients. Holly handed him the containers and pushed him in ahead of her. She had no time for pep talks, not today. The doctor pulled a needle from his pocket and gingerly drew a vial of blood from Skylar Peat. The actress lay completely still, chest barely moving. Since the attack on Trouble earlier, they'd upped the strength of the sedative. It wouldn't do any permanent damage, but neither would they be waking up any time in the next week.

Holly left him to it and wondered to Trouble's side. There was still a pretty pixie nurse attaching tubes to Trouble's wrist. Holly smiled at her, then looked down at her friend's face. He was pale, but otherwise didn't look ill. There was a swathe of bandages on his left shoulder. Holly stopped herself before she touched them. She didn't want to risk anything happening. The nurse clipped the catheter that would carry sim-blood onto the device on his wrist, then left. The elfin doctor came over to Holly, three containers half-filled with blood. He handed them to her, then leant over Trouble to fill the last one. Trouble coughed. The elf leapt back, knocking Holly over. She fell into the stand holding the sedative and blood bags for Trouble, and sent it flying. The catheters came out of Trouble's arm, and the bag of sim-blood burst all over Holly. Trouble obviously hadn't been on the sedatives for long enough, because his eyes flickered open. He saw the doctor, fleeing for the door, then he saw a girl lying on the floor, covered in blood. He decided that she was the better target, and rolled off the bed, landing on all fours above her.

* * *

Holly coughed. Sim-blood was dribbling down her throat, and it tasted disgusting. She hauled herself onto her elbows, only to be knocked flat by the weight of Trouble landing on top of her. There was no-one she knew staring back at her from those red eyes. The disease was working far too quickly. Two hours to get to this stage. At this rate, no-one in here would last beyond a week.

Whilst her mind was making this morbid observation, her body was responding to the threat of its own violation. She threw her arms in front of her face, blocking Trouble's mouth from coming any closer to her. He growled. For the first time in her life, Holly was actually scared of him. She pushed at him, and he moved back a little, but he was still pinning her to the floor. Holly swore loudly in three different languages. As soon as she got out of this predicament, she was going to kill that doctor. If she got out of this predicament. She couldn't move, and Trouble was again reaching for her. She reached blindly for her waist, hoping beyond hope that her buzz baton wasn't pinned the way she was. It wasn't. She pulled it free just as Trouble opened his mouth to sink his teeth into her outstretched left arm. She fired it up and buzzed him. His mouth closed around her forearm, but the charge did its job. He shook, then collapsed on top of Holly, unconscious.

She wriggled out from under him, panting. That, she thought, was perhaps the second scariest moment of her life, topped only by running for her life from a pack of trolls in the Temple of Artemis. She got to her feet, holding her arm where Trouble had tried to bite her. Medics came running in, sedative patches at the ready. _Look, it's the cavalry_ thought Holly. _Better late than never_.

The medics tried to delay her at the hospital, but after she assured them several times that she hadn't been bitten and that she wasn't going to sue, they allowed her to leave. She pulled the three vials of blood from her pocket and examined them. True to their name, the containers were intact. She was going to kiss Foaly when she got back to the Ops Booth. She just hoped that it was going to be enough for Artemis to work with.

_Well_, she thought stubbornly, _if he wants any more he can go and get it himself_.

* * *

This chapter does have a purpose, I promise.  
Skullduck: She's just saying that. Don't believe a word she says.  
Me: Shouldn't you be promoting the story, instead of slandering me? You are the muse, remember. That makes you partially responsible for this.  
Skullduck: Yeah, the good parts.  
Me: *rolls eyes* Feel free to ignore him, I do. Please, review, even if it's just to say that I've spelt such-and-such wrong. It means a lot to me.  
Skullduck: Us. It means a lot to us. And, as an added incentive, if you review then I won't find you and hurt you.  
Me: That's not an incentive, that's a threat. And it's not nice.  
Skullduck: Nice doesn't get reviews.  
Me: Fair point. Ok, what he said stands.

Love you all really.  
Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	4. Chapter 3

Welcome, dear reaers, to the longest chapter so far. Thank you all for the awesome reviews, so as promised I'm updating. I wasn't going to post this for another couple of days, but Skullduck had other ideas...  
Skullduck: Liris, we've been over this. The nice reviewers want an update, so you'll update. It's not as if you don't have up to chapter nine written and edited.  
Me: Yeah, but still....  
Skullduck: Oh stop sulking, it won't leave a scar. And do a disclaimer this time, you forgot last chapter.  
Me: You were supposed to remind me. You are the muse, that falls into your job description.  
Skullduck: *glares* Just say it.  
Me: Fine. I own many things, such as a bed, television and an email account. I do not, however own anything you will see in this chapter, other than the virus itself.  
Skullduck: Finally *rolls eyes*

* * *

Holly walked into the Ops Booth and placed the three precious vials on the countertop in front of Foaly. He gaped at her.

"What in Frond's name happened?"

"There was an accident."

"Are you alright?"

Holly picked at the blood coating her uniform. For once, none of it was hers.

"I'm fine, Foaly. A bag of the sim-blood burst over me. Weren't you watching?"

"Some idiot goblins tried to loot Central Haven. I was coordinating the officers who attended that, as you were otherwise engaged. I didn't think you could get into any trouble picking up blood samples from the hospital. Evidently, I underestimated your ability to attract violent accidents."

"Shut up, Foaly. You got the goblins, I assume?"

"Yes, they're on their way here now. I reactivated the sunstrips; there's no need to leave our officers stranded."

"Did you reopen the shuttle ports?"

He shook his head and trotted back over to his computer.

"No, I thought the hysteria the televisions are causing might lead to a mass exodus. I can get you a shuttle back to Ireland, though. Or a pod, if you'd prefer. There's a flare in ten minutes."

Holly nodded.

"Thanks Foaly. Oh and..."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"That's for the containers. They're genius."

She grinned at him, picked up the three vials of blood and ran out the door. Foaly touched his cheek gently. Under the previous two Commanders, he'd been yelled at, threatened, and hit over the head numerous times (apparently, Trouble was a fan of the human show NCIS), but never kissed. He shrugged. This sort of Commandership, he could get used to.

* * *

Artemis was pacing his study, wondering how he was supposed to do anything with no reference point to start from. No sample to work with, just a lot of conflicting human myths, none of which were likely to be true. Most revolved around killing vampires anyway. Well, killing fairies. A lot of the rumours were the same; holy water worked alright. Problem was he wasn't trying to kill them, so they were no good. Besides, he highly doubted that waving a crucifix in front of Holly's face would get him anything more than a punch on the nose.

There was a sharp rap on the window. He turned around. There was no one there, no one visible at any rate. He sighed and opened it. Why couldn't Holly use the door, just for once?

She materialised by the computer desk. He closed the window and walked over to her.

"Commander" he said warily. He was unsure of his welcome, given how brisk she'd been with him over the communicator.

"Artemis. I have a gift for you."

Not what he was expecting. He nodded warily, hoping this 'gift' wasn't a punch. She produced three vials from her trouser pocket and placed them delicately on the desk. She wasn't wearing her uniform. Instead, she had on a green t-shirt with long sleeves and black trousers. She looked pretty.

"Earth to Artemis. What in Frond's name are you staring at?"

He swallowed and forced his eyes to her face. He knew he was blushing. He hadn't realised that he was staring.

"You changed your clothes, Holly. I wasn't expecting it, that's all."

"My uniform got covered in blood, and I didn't have time to find a clean one."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it wasn't mine. Sim-blood. A bag burst whilst I was getting this for you."

She nudged the nearest vial with her finger. He picked it up, and raised an eyebrow.

"Blood?"

"From the infected fairies. I thought you might need a sample for reference."

He nodded.

"That was what I was trying to ask for when you hung up on me."

She dropped her gaze, staring at the intricate needlework on the rug.

"Sorry about that. I was...upset."

He put one hand on her arm.

"Holly? What is it? Was it something I said?"

He racked his brain, wondering what he'd done to set her off this time. She shook her head.

"No, not entirely." She took a breath and raised her gaze again. "Trouble's been infected."

It was harder to say than she'd thought. Artemis squeezed her arm, in what was meant to be a comforting gesture. She yelped and pulled away. Butler heard to noise from down the corridor, and burst in to see what was going on. He saw Holly and relaxed.

"Is everything alright in here? Holly, I thought you'd left us."

"I was fetching some things."

She stopped rubbing her forearm and gestured to the vials on the desk. Butler nodded.

"Now what do we do?"

Artemis answered, but didn't take his eyes off Holly. She was hiding something.

"I'm going to take a look at these. Holly, I need you to tell me everything you know about the virus, how it works, the symptoms, everything. For starters, where did it originate?"

"Italy. Some warlock cast a spell on the elf that was dating his daughter, and it went wrong."

"A bit harsh" noted Butler. Holly nodded in agreement.

"It originated from a spell?" Artemis confirmed. Holly shrugged one shoulder.

"That's the story. It may not be true. We could check it out, if you'd like?"

Artemis nodded, placing the containers of blood in his pocket.

"The more we know about this virus, the better. Do you know where in Italy?"

"I could find out."

"Good. If the origins are there, then maybe the cure is too."

"I'll get some things ready" Butler said, and left the room.

"What things?" asked Holly. "We're only going on a simple reconnaissance."

"Butler goes nowhere unarmed. And besides, when did anything ever stay simple with us?"

"True" she acknowledged. There was silence for several seconds. Holly smiled and followed Butler out of the room, pulling her communicator from her belt as she went. Artemis assumed that she was calling Foaly to get confirmation. The channels must be open again. He turned back to the computer and tried hacking again. This time it worked. He listened in on Holly and Foaly's conversation, ignoring the pang of guilt that reverberated through his stomach. Holly was holding something back from him, and he had to know what it was. It could impact the mission.

"...exact location, if possible." Holly was saying. Artemis heard Foaly tapping at his computer keyboard.

"According to my sources, the legend originated in north-west Italy, Calcini to be precise. Just outside Asti. Not a big area for tourists, so the Council should okay the Recon."

"I'm not waiting for Council approval, Foaly. Trouble's infected, and he tried to bite me. This is after just two hours. The virus is changing, getting faster. I don't have time to wait for the Council."

"How are you going to get there without their help? You caught a pod to the surface, Holls, you can't use that aboveground."

"I borrowed a shuttle from Tara."

"You borrowed...?"

"Okay, I stole it. We're in the middle of a crisis here Foaly; we have bigger worries than a shuttle that I'm _going to return_."

"Oh, I don't doubt that, Holls. What I doubt is the condition you'll return it in. We would like it back in one piece, if possible? They're not cheap."

"Shut it, centaur. I'm the best shuttle pilot in Recon."

"So you say. I still don't know anyone else who managed to crash-land the training shuttle three feet from Vinyaya."

Artemis could hear Holly grinding her teeth. Foaly chuckled, then became serious again.

"Tell Artemis to hurry, Holls. Those fairies don't have much beyond a week left to them."

"I'll call you when there's news. Oh, and Foaly..."

"I'll call you the second there's any change. Trouble's okay at the moment Holly, but he's gonna need that antidote. Soon."

"We're working on it. See you later."

"Good luck, Holls."

Artemis cut the connection as Holly returned to the study. He must have looked guilty, because she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Alright Fowl, what are you up to? You've got that look on your face."

Artemis rearranged his features into light confusion.

"What look?"

"That I-know-something-and-you're-not-going-to-like-it look. Spill."

"Cap...forgive me, _Commander_. I don't know what you mean."

"If you're holding back on me, Fowl, I swear..."

Butler entered then, cutting her off before she could finish the threat.

"Well, are we going?"

Holly nodded, still staring at Artemis.

"Yes, Dom. The shuttle's outside. This," she was talking to Artemis now "is not over."

She left to start up the shuttle. Artemis looked at Butler curiously.

"Dom?"

Butler blushed a little and stood.

"We should go, Artemis. We shouldn't keep Holly waiting."

Butler evidently wasn't going to elaborate, so Artemis let the matter drop. He followed the manservant out to the shuttle, wondering when Holly had started referring to Butler by his first name. Come to that, when did Butler stop calling her 'Commander'?

* * *

Holly was already inside the vehicle when the pair emerged onto the front lawn. It was a stealth shuttle, coated in cam foil, so the only indication that it was there at all was the fact that she'd left the hatch open. It looked like a door in the air. Artemis pulled himself in and settled into the co-pilots seat. Butler was again forced to kneel in the back. He grumbled about this under his breath whilst closing the hatch behind him. Holly smiled at him apologetically.

"Sorry, Dom. I'll get Foaly working on a bigger shuttle design."

There it was again. 'Dom'. Artemis wasn't going to ask again in front of Butler, but as soon as he and Holly had a moment alone, he was going to find out what was going on. It was strange, to hear them using each other's first names.

Holly belted herself into the pilots chair and started the engine. It purred briefly under her touch, then settled into silence. She flipped a few switches, checked the readings on a dial, and pushed a small green button on the dash. The red light above it flicked off, and the shuttle took off. Holly steered manually for two or so hours, telling Artemis everything he wanted to know about the virus. Eventually, his questions ran out, as did her knowledge. The boy went to the passenger area of the shuttle and knelt next to Butler on the floor. He had had a growth spurt recently, and if he sat in one of the fairy chairs back here, his knees would be level with his ears. The front seats were higher to allow the pilot to see better through the windscreen, but even then he wasn't exactly what you'd call comfortable.

"Everything alright, Artemis?"

"Fine, Butler. I just have a lot of information to process."

"Process it quickly, Artemis" came Holly's voice from up front. She had the intercom on. "We'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Anything else, Commander? Or do you just like to eavesdrop on my conversations?" Artemis addressed the speaker grill, irritated. He didn't like people listening in on him. He vowed to watch what he said from now on, if Holly was going to be snooping around. Butler shook his head mutely. And Artemis wondered why Holly lost her temper with him.

"That would be Foaly's department" she answered coldly. "And talking of eavesdropping, I know you hacked the phone line when I was talking to Foaly. The line beeps when anyone tries to gain access. So don't lecture me, Mud Boy."

Artemis gaped for a second before regaining his composure.

"I'm sorry about that, Holly, but you weren't telling me something. I had to know what it was, it could have impacted the mission."

"If it was going to affect you, I would have told you" she said, voice swiftly going from mildly cold to arctic. Butler interceded. The last thing they need right now was these two fighting. Again.

"Was there something else, Holly?"

"Yes, actually. We may be hitting some..."

The shuttle rocked viciously from side to side.

"...turbulence" she finished. Artemis tried not to throw up. The gyroscopes on this thing were either not working or not active.

Holly smirked to herself in the cockpit. It had been worth getting thrown about, just to see the look of Fowl's face. She reactivated the gyroscopes before he actually threw up. She didn't want to be smelling that for the rest of the mission.

* * *

Yeah, so another Holly/Arty fight. I got told by a few people in another fic that I didn't put enough into their arguments, so this one is going to span two chapters. Also, sorry about this and the next chapter - they are kind of filler, but it's necessary. There's much more action from chapter five onwards. Please review to let me know that you've read it and liked/disliked/indifferent to it. It means a lot.  
Skullduck: Review, or I'll set the virus on you.  
Me: Now that is just harsh. Don't worry, the virus only exists in this story and in Skullduck's head.  
Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	5. Chapter 4

This is another filler chapter, but this is the last one of those, I promise. There is, however, a cliffhanger (of sorts) at the end of this, so don't say I didn't warn you. Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed this, and please continue to do so, it makes my writing better and makes me feel better after the crappy sorts of days I'm having at the moment.  
Skullduck: Don't be so pessimistic, you don't have it that bad.  
Me: Meh. Anyway, as promised here is chapter 4. Enjoy!

* * *

Holly parked the shuttle in the first clearing she found. Calcini was a wooded area, lots of Oak trees. She slapped herself on the chest to release the belt, then opened the hatch, ignoring her passengers completely. She stepped out onto the Italian soil, breathing deeply, and smiled. This was more like it. The air was clean and fresh, not like the recycled air in Haven or the shuttle. She took a few steps away from the entrance to allow Butler and Artemis to get out, but didn't turn around or acknowledge them otherwise. Butler nudged Artemis and pointed towards her. He didn't speak, but the look in his eyes spoke clearly. _Talk to her_. _Fix it_. Artemis nodded and moved to Holly's side. She glanced at him, then looked away again. He'd really upset her. He cleared his throat and spoke quietly.

"Holly, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

She nodded, but didn't speak. He took this as permission to continue.

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Your meaning is irrelevant, Artemis. The fact is, you did it. Why?"

She turned to look at him, and he could see genuine confusion in her eyes.

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do Holly. More than anyone" he echoed her own words back at her. She frowned at him. He sighed.

"Please, forgive me. Give me another chance."

"I'm tired of giving you chances, Artemis."

She turned her back and walked away from him. She hadn't shouted or punched him, which he'd half-expected. She'd sounded sad. Artemis moved to follow her, to say what he wasn't sure, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Leave her be, Artemis. She'll come back."

He turned to face Butler.

"I don't understand her."

Butler smiled gently.

"No man understands women. Just give her some time. She'll forgive you, it's part of who she is. Besides, she needs you right now. Help her out, you'll get back on the right footing soon enough."

"When did you get so insightful?" Artemis asked. Butler shrugged.

"I've been around the block a few times, Artemis. The girl I loved stopped talking to me, too. Of course that was because of my job, rather than..."

Artemis cut him off, incredulous.

"The girl you what? You think I _love_ Holly? No, Butler, we're just friends. Not even that sometimes."

He frowned. Butler hid a small smile.

"Whatever you say, Artemis."

* * *

Holly had wondered off into the trees, out of earshot of the shuttle. She couldn't be around Artemis right now. Of everything he'd done, this was up there with the worst things. It wasn't the eavesdropping itself that was upsetting her, though it was a factor. It was his reasons for doing it. _You weren't telling me something_, he'd said. Instead of just asking her outright, he'd gone behind her back to find out. He didn't trust her. That hurt more than anything else. He hadn't trusted her to help him when his mother was ill, and he hadn't trusted her to tell him the truth face-to-face. How could she trust him if he wouldn't trust her? How could they be friends, much less anything mo...

She cut that thought off before it had fully formed. _Don't even go there_. It wouldn't work, even if they could trust one another. For one thing, she was seventy years older than he was. There was also the small matter of species. _No, stop it_!

She pulled herself back together and turned around to head back for the shuttle. Before she'd come topside, she'd stashed a fairy microscope in the pod, then transferred it to the shuttle. It was clearer and had more magnification than human microscopes, so she'd brought it along for Artemis to study the samples. She'd even remembered the little glass slide thingies. It was tucked into a compartment in the passenger section of the shuttle, so it wouldn't fall over and get broken. If Foaly had issues with her borrowing the shuttle, he'd go mad if he found out she'd hijacked his scientific equipment. She was going to put it back when she got belowground again, and play dumb if he'd noticed it was missing.

A rabbit limped into her path. Its back leg was broken. She bent down and loosed a few sparks into the creature's limb, which healed. The rabbit sniffed her hand appreciatively, allowed her to stroke it once, then hopped away into the undergrowth. She straightened to see Butler standing in front of her.

"Holly. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dom. A little stressed out, that's all."

"Artemis really is sorry. He didn't mean to hurt you."

"Artemis never means to hurt anyone, and look where it's gotten us. You've been shot, I've been stabbed and people have been injured."

Butler wasn't sure how to argue with that, because it was nothing but the truth. Holly dismissed it with a wave of her left hand.

"It doesn't matter. You don't have to play peacekeeper, you know. We can sort out our own messes."

"Will you come back to the shuttle? I shouldn't leave Artemis alone, the forest may be deserted, but he could still find trouble."

"I was on my way back when you found me."

Butler waved her to walk in front of him, eyeing her left forearm. He sleeve had slipped when she'd waved, and he'd noticed a dark, purpling mark there. She tugged at the sleeve, covering it back up.

"Trouble tried to bite me" she said. She knew he'd seen, she'd felt his gaze on the mark "He's infected."

Her voice was small. Butler put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Are you alright?"

"It's just a bruise. He didn't break the skin. So yes I'm fine. Virus-free."

"That's not what I meant."

She sighed and started walking. Butler followed. If she didn't want to talk about it, that was up to her.

They walked together into the clearing where the shuttle was parked, and stopped dead. Artemis was nowhere to be seen. There were no signs of a struggle, but all that meant was that he couldn't fight back. Not good. Holly drew her weapon, which she'd stashed at the small of her back, and pointed it at the floor, flicking it up to setting four with her thumb. Anything she hit with it should wake up in three days time with the mother of all hangovers. Butler pulled his somewhat more lethal weapon from his jacket and imitated her pose. She went right. He went left. They couldn't see the shuttle, obviously, but they knew where it was from the indents on the leaf litter. Using it as cover, they surveyed the surrounding area for any signs of disturbance. There were animal tracks, but the only disruption in the foliage that looked human-sized was the one Butler had made when he had followed Holly. So, that left aerial abduction.

Butler swore silently. Never leave the principal, how many times had he broken that rule now? He should get his tattoo lasered. If Artemis had been kidnapped again, he didn't deserve it.

When Holly was certain that she and Butler were alone in the clearing, she put her gun away and opened the shuttle. Artemis appeared in the doorway.

"Holly, there you are."

She shook her head and punched him. He fell backwards into the shuttle, clutching his nose.

"Don't do that!" she said, stepping over him to access the fridge. She needed a drink. There was nothing stronger than mineral water in there, so that would have to suffice. She downed it in three gulps. Artemis struggled onto his elbows, breathing through his mouth.

"What was that for?"

"Hiding. Don't worry me like that. I thought I was going to have to rescue you again."

From her tone, Artemis wasn't sure if the worry was for him or for the shuttle, which would probably have been damaged if involved in a rescue. Butler heaved him to his feet and examined his face, which was bleeding.

"Holly, I think you've broken his nose."

The elf span Artemis around, looked at where she'd punched him, then sent a few healing sparks into her fingers and ran her hand down his face. Her touch was light, but still sent jabs of pain through the boy's skull. He felt his nose heal, and the sting dissipated.

"Thank you."

She nodded and returned her attention to the shuttle interior. She wasn't, as he first thought, deliberately snubbing him, but searching. She pulled open two compartments in the wall and removed a box and a microscope. She set them down on the small table that was meant for eating off and spoke to Artemis.

"I got you these. Foaly doesn't know I have them, so don't damage them. I thought they'd come in useful."

She opened the box and removed a handful of slides. Artemis pulled the vials of blood from his pocket and set them down next to the equipment.

"Thanks you Holly."

"No problem. But if Foaly asks, I'm telling him that you put me up to it."

* * *

Dawn came earlier than Holly was expecting. She was outside the shuttle, looking at nature's bounty, when the first pink rays of sunlight caressed the clouds. She smiled as the sun rose. She wasn't overly fond of the sun itself – it did nothing to help her ever-dwindling magic levels – but it was beautiful, there was no denying that. She turned and entered the shuttle. Artemis was still pouring over the slides, and Butler had lain down in a corner and was dozing. She shut the hatch, snapping Artemis out of his trance.

"Is everything alright?"

She nodded, and decided that she was talking to him again.

"It's dawn. You should get some sleep."

He nodded and put the slides away, not arguing for once. Holly curled up on one of the seats, leaving the long settee for Artemis. He sat on it, deliberating between it and the floor. The seat was padded. He lay down, looking at Holly. After a second she opened her eyes and stared back.

"Alright Artemis, what is it now?"

"Back at the Manor, after you got off the phone with Foaly, you asked me what I was up to. If you knew about the eavesdropping, then what were you referring to?"

"Oh, that. I thought maybe you'd figured something out about the virus, and you didn't want to tell me. It wouldn't be the first time you'd withheld information."

Artemis frowned, and Holly realised what she'd said.

"I didn't mean it like that. I trust you, Artemis, you're just hard to understand at times. You play to your own rules, which you keep changing. I can't keep up with you."

Artemis looked at the ceiling. He wasn't sure what to make of this speech. At least he knew she had forgiven him, at least partially, for his indiscretion earlier. He recalled what she'd said to him, and suddenly knew what to say in return.

"I do trust you, Holly. I owe you my life and my family's lives. It's thanks to you that I have everything I do. I owe you everything."

He turned to face her, hoping for some sort of positive response. Holly was asleep, breathing lightly, and hadn't heard a word he'd said. He sighed. So much for his epiphany.

* * *

Butler woke about three hours later. Holly and Artemis were both fast asleep. He stood quietly and reached for the fridge to get a bottle of water. Holly moaned and shifted position, but didn't wake up. Her t-shirt rode up her body, exposing the small of her back. She'd removed the gun before she'd settled down to sleep, it was on the floor within easy reach, but something still caught Butler's eye. On her lower back, above her right hip, was a small tattoo of a silver acorn. He pulled her top back down to cover it. She twitched at his touch, and opened her eyes.

"Dom?"

"Holly. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't worry about it."

She sat up and took the bottle of water he offered her, drinking most and pouring the rest over her head to wake herself up. It did little to quench her thirst. Butler smiled at her and opened the hatch, stepping out into the daylight. Holly blinked and raised her arm to cover her eyes. What was wrong with her? She tugged her sleeve back over the bruise on her arm, and froze. At the edge of the mark was a tiny red puncture wound.

* * *

Yes, Holly has a tattoo. Please, don't comment about OOCness about it, it is there for a reason. I'm not just completely obsessed.  
Skullduck: She is obsessed - she had two tattoos.  
Me: It is relevant to the story, I promise. And, as promised - cliffhanger. Anyone care to guess what's gonna happen next?  
Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	6. Chapter 5

Hey people! You asked for an update, so here it is. I'm done with filler chapters, you'll all be pleased to hear. This is the start of the action, and it took forever to write.  
Skullduck: Liris, no one cares. just do a disclaimer and let them get on with the story.  
Me: Why do I have to say this every time? Surely they realise by now. *sighs* I am not Eoin Colfer, so I own nothing of his wonderful creation. However, the acorns and the fort are mine! Ha!  
UPDATED - thank you, brightfrost!

* * *

Artemis stirred as the sunlight pierced his eyelids. He groaned and sat up, blinking wearily. He needed more sleep than this. He noticed Holly, hair wet, staring at her arm with a look resembling fear. He walked over to her, concerned.

"Holly? What's wrong?"

She snapped out of her horrified trance and pulled her sleeve back over the mark, but not before Artemis had seen it. He knelt in front of her and touched the bruise gently.

"Is that where Trouble tried to bite you?"

She nodded.

"Yeah."

Her voice was barely audible. There was something wrong here, something more than just a bruise. Come to think of it, why was there still a bruise? Her magic should have healed it long ago. He knew she still had magic – she'd fixed his nose earlier. She winced. Artemis realised he was squeezing her arm, and let go.

"Why hasn't it healed?" he asked, terrified that he already knew the answer. She closed her eyes, took several deep, steadying breaths, and pulled her sleeve back to expose the tiny puncture wound. Artemis swayed a little. Holly couldn't be infected, she just couldn't be. He swallowed and pulled himself together. This had to be harder for her than it was for him – she was the one with the bite mark on her arm.

"How long?"

She opened her eyes.

"How long what?"

"Have you been...?"

He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. She looked away.

"About twelve hours" she mumbled, not meeting his gaze. Artemis felt some of the worry lift from his stomach.

"Then maybe you're not infected. You said yourself that the virus was getting more powerful, working faster. If you had been infected, you'd have attacked someone by now."

She met his eyes then, and he could see a glimmer of hope in them.

"Gee, that's comforting" she said sarcastically, but she meant it. Artemis was right, if she had the virus she'd have snapped long before now. But that still didn't explain why the sudden thirst, or the persistence of the bruise. She decided not to mention that, and stood, stretching. Artemis pushed himself to his feet and together they left the shuttle. Holly darted into the shade provided by the Oak trees. She didn't particularly want her magic leeched. Artemis stood out in the sun for a few seconds, enjoying the warmth on his face, then joined her. They could see Butler on the other side of the clearing, though what he was doing neither was entirely certain. Setting some sort of trap for any unwelcome visitors, probably.

"Where do we go from here then?" Artemis asked. The blood analysis may be his priority, but the location had been Holly's. She flicked open the miniature computer on her right wrist and set it to display. A miniature hologram appeared in midair, flickering slightly around the edges. Butler came over and joined the pair, not wanting to be left out of the tactics talk.

"We're here" Holly said, pointing to the side of a small hill "and according to Foaly, the warlock in question lived in a fairy fort about four miles north, here. Now, as far as I'm aware, that fort was closed down, but we could still go and check it out, see what we can find."

She closed the hologram down and snapped the computer shut.

"Your turn" she said to Artemis. He nodded and launched into lecture mode.

"The blood has very few red blood cells, which would explain the anaemia. The virus appears to destroy them somehow. Also, the leucocytes are inactive, though whether that's just to the virus remains to be seen."

Holly sighed.

"And in normal terms...?"

"The body isn't fighting the virus as it should be. I would guess that that is why it is progressing so quickly; it has found some way to disable the body's defences."

Holly nodded.

"Then we need to find a way to boost them. Any ideas, oh genius?"

"Not yet. Let's look at the site of origin, see what clues we can glean from that."

The three stood and Holly ran back into the shuttle. She grabbed her gun and a backpack from one of the compartments, then shut the hatch. Artemis tried not to be dismayed that they were walking. Holly read the expression on his face, and rolled her eyes.

"There's nowhere closer to land the shuttle, Artemis. I asked Foaly last night while you were working on the blood samples. Besides, the exercise will do you good."

She set off out of the clearing at a pace that Artemis knew he would have to abandon after ten minutes. He sighed and followed her. _There goes another suit_ he thought.

* * *

Holly had to slow her pace after just a few minutes. Surprisingly, this wasn't due to Artemis. She was having trouble breathing, and the world kept flowing in and out of focus. She leant against a tree and wiped perspiration from her brow. Butler put his hand on her shoulder. Even supported by the tree, she was swaying.

"Holly, what's wrong?" Artemis asked. She didn't answer. Butler sat her down and gave her a bottle of water. She took a sip then gave it back to him. It was making her feel vaguely sick. Artemis knelt by her side and put the back of his hand to her forehead. She had a slight temperature, but that shouldn't be resulting in this.

"Holly can you hear me?" Again, he received no answer, other than a muted groan. Her eyelids kept flickering shut. Artemis didn't think she could see or hear him. He pushed her hair back off her face. She blinked and shook her head, trying to snap out of it. Gradually, the forest floor came back onto focus, as did Artemis and Butler's worried faces.

"Holly?"

She shook free of their hands and stood. She swayed a little, but stayed upright. They stood next to her, Butler with his arms outstretched to catch her if she should fall.

"What happened?" the manservant asked. Holly shook her head.

"I'm not sure."

Artemis suggested going back to the shuttle, but she declined.

"I'm alright now. Whatever it was, it's gone."

She set off again before either human could argue. They followed her, neither quite believing her, but she didn't as much as sway. Artemis jogged to her side, not an easy or comfortable feat in loafers. She slowed her pace to accommodate him.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine now. I don't know what happened back there."

Artemis noticed the fine tremor in her voice, but didn't comment on it.

"Do you think..." he trailed off, not sure that he wanted to verbalise his idea. She looked at him.

"Do I think what?"

"Could it be connected to the bite wound?"

"You mean, could I be infected after all? I don't know, Artemis. No one else has reacted like this."

Artemis squeezed her shoulder lightly. She smiled at him, but there was no real happiness in her expression. Artemis thought he knew the reason.

"We will find a cure, Holly."

"I know" she said, but she didn't sound convinced. She shrugged free of his grip and increased her pace. Evidently, she wasn't in the mood to talk.

* * *

They completed the rest of the two-hour long trek in silence, apart from the odd warning being issued. It wouldn't have taken so long if they hadn't had to keep altering their path to account for the trees, or if Artemis had been in anything resembling peak condition. To be completely fair, he was in better physical condition than the last time Holly had seen him, due to the horse riding lessons he'd been giving his younger brothers. They were as good as, if not better than he was now.

Eventually, Artemis had to stop. This wasn't due to exhaustion, though it was a factor in the incident, but because he'd walked into a low-hanging branch and his lip was bleeding. Holly healed him, muttering under her breath.

"I'm going to spend the whole time healing you, aren't I? I would like to keep a little of my magic in reserve, you know, just in case..."

Artemis tried not to laugh at the spiel she came out with. Evidently, she was feeling better.

"How much farther is it?" he asked when she was done. She pointed over her shoulder.

"About three metres that way."

The three emerged from behind the trees to find a small clearing, barely big enough for Butler, let alone the other two. Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"Is this it?"

"Not all the forts are as grand as the one at Tara, Fowl" Holly teased, combing the surrounding trees with her gaze. She smiled as she found what she was looking for. There was one large Oak that had a black knot on it, a different colour from the rest of the tree. She went over and pushed the knot with her thumb. The entire bottom section of the tree swung open on a hinge. It was made of metal.

"Et voila" she smirked. Artemis nodded.

"Very impressive, Commander. I assume Foaly told you about that, as well?"

She stuck her tongue out at him and went inside. He and Butler followed her. There was a set of very steep stairs immediately as they entered, leading down into blackness. Artemis could just about make Holly out, standing three feet in front of him. The door swung shut behind Butler, throwing the three into utter darkness.

Holly froze as the dark swallowed her. She could hear Artemis and Butler breathing behind her, and somewhere up ahead there was the sound of humming. Electricity. There shouldn't be anything working here; Foaly had told her that the fort was deserted. She pulled a Glo-cube from her pack and squeezed it. It lit up, casting a strange green glow on the walls. Artemis touched her shoulder, and she started.

"Holly?"

She continued down the stairs slowly, trying to ignore the fear running through her. Sometimes, claustrophobia really sucked. She concentrated on her breathing, ignoring the way the walls curved in towards her. She could do this. Artemis took in Holly's tense posture and muttered encouragement to her. She told him to shut up.

They emerged into the fort itself after less than a minute on the stairs, though it felt like longer to Holly. They walked into the middle of the spacious hall, staring at the dust. Or, more accurately, at the footprints in the dust. Trolls.

"Great" Artemis muttered "as if we didn't have enough problems."

"Okay, so we do a fast recon." Holly said, turning to face the two humans. "Check the main rooms, look for anything significant, then get out of here."

She turned the Glo-cube off and stashed it back in her pack. The lights were on in here; that needed looking into. The three went in a line, Holly at the front. Artemis was in the middle, as he was the only one without a weapon. Holly set her Neutrino to level five. Any troll that came for them now was going to get zapped with a charge that could potentially vaporise a rhinoceros with a single blast. Unfortunately trolls were made of stronger stuff, but the charge should knock them out for a while.

Holly led them down two winding corridors, following the electrical cable. It diverted sharply left into a room with a locked door. For any other room, that wouldn't have been a problem. Rust had long taken over the fort, and a swift kick would have opened any door. This one, however, had a shiny new padlock holding it shut.

"Someone's been here" she said, senses going onto red alert. There was a noise from the direction they'd just come, like claws against metal. Butler raised his gun and pointed it down the corridor. For several seconds, there was silence, then came the noise again. Someone was trying to sneak up on them. Holly swapped places with Butler, as she had the non-lethal weapon. No-one was dying if she could help it. She padded back up the corridor silently, gun held at the ready. She paused at the corner. Artemis could feel his pulse in his throat. How many times was it possible to survive a run-in with a troll? Surely their odds must be getting low. Holly moved around the corner quickly and disappeared from sight. For several long seconds there was nothing, then they heard her loose a shot. Artemis tensed. She reappeared around the corner, running.

"Go!" she barked at them. Butler shoved Artemis in front of him, practically carrying the boy down the corridor. It was a dead-end. Holly ran into them and thumped the wall with her fist.

"D'Arvit!"

She span back around and began firing shots. Artemis peered out from behind Butler. There were seven trolls all vying for the best gouging position. Holly shot the forerunner and he went down, tripping up the one behind him. The troll's momentum carried him down the remaining corridor and headfirst into Holly. She fell over backwards, hitting her head off the metal flooring with a snap. The good news; the tusks had both missed her and the impact had knocked the troll out. The bad news; Holly also appeared to be unconscious, and the gun had flown from her hand. And the trolls were gaining.

Butler fired into the remaining five, bullets thumping into their thick fur. They didn't slow down. Artemis looked around desperately for a solution, a way out. Holly's gun was about five feet away. He didn't stop to think about how stupid and suicidal his plan was, he just launched himself out from behind Butler and grabbed the Neutrino. The trolls' attention was now firmly on him. He was closer than Butler, and smaller. Easier prey. He raised the gun and fired. More by luck than judgement, he hit the nearest troll, sending it flying backwards into two of the others. They started fighting amongst themselves, leaving only two trolls still menacing him and Butler. That was two too many. He fired again. This shot missed, but had the desired effect. The trolls backed away down the corridor, in search of prey that didn't fight back.

Artemis lowered the gun, trembling. There were still three unconscious trolls in the corridor with them, and Holly was out for the count. Blue sparks played around the back of her head, healing the damage. Butler holstered his gun and pulled her out from underneath the troll. She groaned and opened her eyes. Butler didn't wait for her to recover fully. He threw her over his shoulder and, drawing his gun again, set off down the corridor. They were getting out of this dead-end. Artemis followed after a second, once he was sure he could walk without falling over.

Butler took a right when the corridor forked. The troll footprints headed left, so Artemis didn't argue. Butler checked the first open door he came to. The room was empty. He set Holly down on the floor inside, pulled Artemis in and closed the door behind them. That might delay the trolls for a second if they came back.

Holly pushed herself onto her elbows, still looking somewhat dazed. Artemis handed her the Neutrino and pulled her to her feet. She rubbed the back of her head and looked around the room. It had once been someone's office, she could see a desk and two overstuffed chairs against one wall. There was something on the desk, something shining silver in the overhead lights. She walked over to examine it. Anything that looked new in this place needed investigating. She stopped when she saw what it was, and the colour drained from her face.

"Holly?" Butler asked, abandoning his post at the door to see what it was. Lying on the desk was a silver medallion in the shape of an acorn, identical to the tattoo on her hip.

* * *

See, told you the tattoo had a purpose. Who wants to guess what's wrong with Holly, or what the acorn is for?  
Skullduck: This is her pathetic way of subtly asking for reviews.  
Me: There's nothing subtle about it, this is shameless begging. Please?  
Btw - if anyone (*cough*bholly*cough*) sets Skullduck on me again, I will then set Skullduck on them. Just a warning.  
Skullduck: *grins evilly* Mwahaha!  
Me: Shutup. My threat, not yours.

Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	7. Chapter 6

Hi, I'm back again! Another fast (for me, at least) update, but they will slow down after this - I still have to write them! Ok, warning to everybody - there is a HUGE amount of A/H in this chapter, but I tried to keep them in character - tell me if I didn't, please.  
Skullduck: What she means is that she doesn't own any of the characters. Oh, and for those who don't know, 'trainers' is the english form of 'sneakers'.  
Me: Yes, thank you. Huge thanks to Northern Grunge for beta-ing this, love you! Enjoy!

* * *

Butler picked up the medallion and examined it. It was small, no bigger than a real acorn, and had a small hole in the stem to allow string to be passed through it so it could be worn. He gave it to Artemis, who examined it more thoroughly. Holly gradually regained colour, and touched her hip where the tattoo lay. Artemis noticed and raised an eyebrow. She showed him.

"It has significance, then?" he asked, once he'd gotten over the shock of Holly having a tattoo. He hadn't thought she'd be the type to get one done. She nodded and covered her back again.

"It's a symbol of prosperity. A lot of fairies have a tattoo like mine. The medallion, however..."

She trailed off and took the acorn from Artemis, closing her fingers around it. It clicked, and the bottom half of the acorn came apart from the top. Inside was a jumble of wires.

"Inactive" she mumbled. She pushed the pieces back together and placed it gently into one of the side pockets on her backpack.

"It's an explosive device, designed to be used against humans" she explained. "A terrorist group, lead by Opal, used to use them. They thought that the surface should belong to the People, not to the Mud Men. This was before she decided that it was the fairy People she hated. All the members were captured, they're still in Howlers Peak. So what is this doing here?"

"It was probably left by the same person who locked that door" Artemis concluded. Holly nodded.

"We should get out of here, before they come back. I don't think there's anything that is going to be useful."

Butler opened the door, and led them back to the main hallway. The lights were on brightly in here, so they were in little danger from trolls. All the same, Butler and Holly kept their weapons out. They paused at the bottom of the steps, Holly looking around for any traces that could have been left by a fairy. The only footprints in the dust were those of trolls and their own. The individual could have used wings, she supposed.

Movement to her left caught her eye. Three bull trolls loitered just outside of the bright pool of light, glaring at her. Whoever the fairy in question was, they had nerves of steel to come down here. Either that or a death wish. Holly gestured to the dark stairwell with her free hand.

"Butler, you go first. Artemis, get the Glo-cube. It's in my pack."

She turned her gun on the trolls and let loose a blast. It skimmed the closest creature's head. The three snorted and backed away. Artemis pulled the cube from the backpack and lit it. Butler took it from him and held it in his left hand, hefting the Sig Sauer with his right. Artemis followed him up the stairs, leaving Holly to bring up the rear. She walked backwards slowly, eyes skimming the dark corners of the hall. She was feeling woozy again, but put it down to hitting her head and not getting enough sleep in the preceding thirty or so hours. She could ignore it. She backed into the stairwell.

* * *

Butler reached the top of the stairs without incident. He handed Artemis the Glo-cube and thumped on the metal door with his fist. It swung open, spilling soft afternoon light into the corridor. It was then that Artemis noticed that Holly was not with them. He hadn't expected her to be right behind them, as she was walking backwards, but the light penetrated quite a way down the steps, and she was nowhere in sight. Butler had also noticed. He checked the outside quickly, the shut the door again.

"I'm going to look for her. You stay here."

He set off down the stairs, taking the Glo-cube with him and leaving Artemis in suffocating darkness. Artemis saw the logic; nothing was going to come in through the door to his back, and anything coming up the stairs would have to come past Butler first to get to him. He was safe where he was, but he didn't feel it. He wished Butler had left him some light. The corridor seemed to shrink in on him, and he wasn't even claustrophobic. How must Holly be feeling? Butler wasn't gone long, thankfully. He returned with Holly's limp figure slung over her shoulder. Artemis could just make her out in the glow from the cube.

"What happened?"

Butler didn't answer. He opened the metal door and stepped out into the forest, beckoning to the boy when he was sure it was safe. He laid Holly down gently at the base of a tree. Artemis bent over her still form. Her eyes were shut, her lashes casting long shadows on her cheeks, and her breathing was shallow and quick. He felt for her pulse. Her heart was beating faster than was normal, and she had a slight fever. Whatever had happened to her was a repeat of the episode just after they'd left camp, only worse. He called her name, and got no response. Butler crouched by his side.

"We need to get her back to the shuttle" Artemis said. He slid the pack off her shoulders and looked around for her Neutrino.

"Butler? Where's Holly's gun?"

"I didn't see it, Artemis. Maybe she dropped it when she fainted. I'll look, hold on."

He lit the Glo-cube again and went back into the stairwell. This time he was gone for five or so minutes. In all that time, Holly didn't stir. The rise and fall of her chest was the only indication that she was still alive. Artemis pulled her sleeve up. The bruise around the bite mark was livid and purple, and the wound itself was swollen. This had to be the cause of Holly's fainting fit. What else could it be?

Butler returned and shut the metal door. The only gun in his hands was his own.

"You didn't find it?"

Butler shook his head.

"It's not there, someone must have taken it."

"The same person who fixed the electricity and left the bomb, I presume. They must have been watching us."

Artemis stood and heaved Holly's pack onto his own shoulders. It was heavier than it looked.

"Let's go, Butler. We have to get Holly back to the shuttle."

Butler picked her up and led the way back towards their camp. Artemis followed, thinking furiously. The mystery fairy didn't want to hurt them, or they could have done so when they'd been separated. Holly had been unconscious, so incapable of fighting back. But, if the fairy didn't want to harm them, then why take the gun? Why the bomb? It didn't make any sense.

* * *

After about half an hour or so, Holly stirred. She coughed and groaned, opening her eyes. Butler sat her down with her back against a tree and handed her a bottle of water. She took a sip, grimaced and spat it back out again. Artemis knelt by her side.

"Holly? Are you alright?"

She blinked a few times, trying to focus, then nodded.

"I think so. What happened?"

"You passed out on the stairs. I think it's related to the bite."

Holly rubbed her arm.

"D'Arvit" she muttered. She climbed to her feet, helped by Artemis, and steadied herself against the tree. Artemis put a hand on her shoulder. It didn't do much in the way of helping her stay upright, but she appreciated the gesture.

"If it is the virus, then why's it affecting Holly differently to the others?" Butler asked the most pertinent question. Unfortunately, none of them had a good answer. Holly took a deep breath and stood under her own power.

"We should get back to the shuttle" she said. She tried to take the pack from Artemis, but he wouldn't let her. She felt at her hip and sighed.

"At least give me my Neutrino."

Neither human answered her, but the looks on their faces told her what had happened. She swore again and thumped the tree with her fist. An acorn fell onto her head. Artemis sniggered, breaking the tense silence. Holly glared at him, then opened the map on her wrist computer and called up their current location. Butler had led them about half a mile or so too far to the east. Holly turned in a slow circle, working out which way the camp was, then set off again, hiding her smile from Artemis. The boy's laughter was infectious.

* * *

The three arrived back at the shuttle without anyone fainting or walking into tree branches about an hour later. Holly opened the shuttle and fetched a bottle of cold water from the fridge. She took a sip, grimaced, but forced herself to swallow it. She'd been hoping that the strange, unpleasant taste of the water in Butler's pocket had been due to its warmth, but apparently not. Artemis climbed into the shuttle after her and pulled his loafers from his sore feet. Next time, he was wearing trainers.

Holly may not be able to stomach drinking the water, but it felt good pouring over the wound on her left arm. It was ice cold, and did wonders for the ache that had started in the bruise. A small puddle was forming on the floor, but she thought nothing of it until Artemis tried to stand up. He didn't have the best balance under normal conditions, so the water caused him big problems. He slipped, fell forwards and knocked Holly over. She hit the ground under him, thinking that this was happening to her a lot lately. Artemis managed to stop himself head butting her in the nose, but scuffed his palms in the process. They finished up with Artemis lying on top of Holly, faces level. Of course, Butler chose that particular moment to enter the shuttle. He smirked and left again, saying something about giving them privacy. Neither of them actually heard his exact words, a little preoccupied with the position they found themselves in. Artemis tried to shove himself upright, only to fall again. This time he didn't quite manage to catch himself, and his forehead made contact with Holly's. They made pained noises at the same time.

"Get off me, Fowl!"

"I'm trying!"

Butler, standing outside listening, chuckled. Holly and Artemis paused at the sound, and he decided to make himself scarce. He went to check on the traps he'd set up earlier that day. Holly heard him leave, and resumed pushing at Artemis's torso. He raised himself onto his arms, leaning over her. His hands were either side of her head, and hers were on his chest. It looked very intimate, and both were aware of it. Butler's words floated back through Artemis's head. 'The girl I loved...' He shook those thoughts from his mind, they weren't helping anything. Holly dropped her arms to lie across her own body. Artemis probably didn't need her help.

The boy didn't move. He remembered a similar situation from when they'd time travelled, after they'd escaped from the gorilla cage. He felt the same way now as he did then, hypnotised by her mismatched eyes. Neither one moved. Holly licked her lips awkwardly, and spoke in a voice that shook.

"Artemis..."

Artemis closed his eyes and sat back on his knees. He'd just made a complete idiot of himself, he was sure. Holly wriggled out from under him and knelt. Blue sparks zipped down her back, healing the bruises before they formed. Artemis's hands were in his lap, palms showing. He'd grazed them, and blood was dotting his skin. Holly reached over and ran her fingers lightly over the wounds, healing them. His eyes snapped open. Holly wasn't looking at his hands. Her face was maybe three inches from his. He swallowed and leaned in. Water was soaking into both of their trousers, but neither noticed. Artemis's hands were healed by now, but Holly's fingers didn't move. She knelt up a little to make herself level with him. Their noses touched. Holly exhaled shakily, and stopped moving. She was too close, looking at her was making Artemis's vision go funny. He shut his eyes and leaned forwards, closing the gap that remained between them. Their lips met, barely touching, and Holly closed her eyes too. They parted briefly, then kissed again with more conviction. Holly's hands wound their way up Artemis's chest, and his up her spine.

Suddenly, a loud metallic crunching noise ripped through their romantic moment. They froze for a second. One of Butler's traps must have gone off. Holly got to her feet and ran out of the shuttle, somehow contriving to do so without slipping over. Artemis was more sedate in standing, but he managed it with only two minor fumbles. By the time he made it to the shuttle door, Holly was back with Butler in tow.

"False alarm" she said, climbing past Artemis back into the shuttle. Her arm brushed his, and both of them stopped, staring at each other. Holly looked away first.

"I should...um...clean the water up."

She disappeared into the small bathroom, reappearing moments later with her arms full of towels. She righted the empty water bottle and set it on the table, then laid the towels over the floor. They turned quickly from pure white to an off-grey colour. Holly wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"And that's what's soaking into my clothes right now."

She pulled a coil-heated jumpsuit from one of the cupboards. She wouldn't need the heating, but that function could be turned off. She went back into the bathroom to change. Artemis still hadn't moved. Butler coughed into his hand, and the boy jumped and turned to face him.

"What happened then?" Butler asked. Artemis shook his head.

"I'm not certain."

Butler hid a smirk and returned to the opposite side of the clearing to reset the trap that had gone off by itself. Artemis returned his attention to the interior as the bathroom door opened once more. Holly, dressed in the jumpsuit, shoved her wet clothes into the compartment the suit had come from and slammed the door shut. There was a semi-tense silence as they looked at each other again. Artemis supposed that she, like him, was unsure about what to say or do. Finally, Holly retreated into the cockpit, muttering something about talking to Foaly. Alone now in the passenger area, Artemis pulled the microscope and slides from the cupboard and studied them again for something to do. He should really have a comparison sample to check what was normal and what wasn't. He could tell the basics – that the red and white blood cells weren't behaving as they should – but was fairy blood supposed to be so thick? He didn't know. Maybe he should ask Holly. He made his way to the cockpit carefully, pausing when he heard her talking over the com unit.

"...and my weapon's missing."

"So let me get this straight" Artemis heard Foaly say. "You go to an abandoned fort, only to find that there's power. You get attacked by trolls, find a remnant from Opal's old buddies, and lose your Neutrino. Only you could get into so much trouble on what is quite possibly the simplest Recon mission you've ever had."

"You're not sounding particularly bothered by this, Foaly."

"I can remote-destruct the gun, and you said yourself that the bomb's inactive. What is there to worry about? You have bigger problems belowground Holls."

"What about whoever set the fort up with power? Who took the gun and left the bomb? We have to find this person, they could be dangerous."

"Or they could be an adolescent runaway hiding out aboveground."

"In which case we can return them to their parents and close a missing-fairy file" Holly countered. Foaly sighed.

"You think it's Opal, don't you?"

"Who else could it be?"

"Anyone, Holls. You could wire that fort up if you put your mind to it."

Holly narrowed her eyes.

"Was that an insult, Centaur?"

"Would I insult the Commander?"

"You frequently do. Look, I just want to check it out. If it isn't Opal, then there's no big emergency here, but if it is, then this could get very complex very quickly. Plus, we get to bring her in – again – and get her out of our hair and back into her own time."

"Fine, but I can't stall the Council for much longer. I can give you another two days, tops."

"Thanks Foaly."

"Say hi to Arty for me, will you? Tell him to keep his nose out of my computer system."

Holly cut the link without bothering to reply. Artemis, teeth gritted at Foaly's use of the nickname, knocked on the wall. Holly span around.

"Oh, it's you."

"Opal wouldn't knock" Artemis pointed out. Holly smiled at him sarcastically.

"Did you want something?"

"Yes, actually. The blood I've got on the slides is very thick, is that normal?"

Holly shrugged one shoulder.

"How should I know? I don't know how fairy blood relates to human; that would be Foaly's department. I'll call him back, hold on."

She redialled Foaly's number. The com screen remained blank. Holly frowned and fiddled about with the wires at the base of the unit. Nothing happened. She swore and slapped the screen. Again nothing, but then she hadn't really expected that to help.

"I guess we're on our own" Artemis muttered. Holly looked at him.

"What now then, genius?"

"Now, Commander, we work out what we're going to do about this situation."

"Oh excellent, Artemis. I could have come up with that."

"There's no need to be sarcastic, Holly. I need to think."

"Then go meditate or whatever. I'm going to wonder, try to get a signal with this thing."

She hefted the communicator in her right hand. Artemis nodded.

"Don't go far."

"I'm not a complete idiot."

Artemis smiled to himself as Holly left the shuttle. The awkwardness had gone, and they were bickering again. That had to be a good sign, right? He curled up on a seat in the passenger area of the shuttle and closed his eyes. What to do next...

* * *

Told you there was H/A. I love that ship, I can't help it. Just indulge me.  
Skullduck: Yes, she's obsessed.  
Me: Obsession makes for better stories. Please, review and tell me what you think! More reviews, more chapters. Deal?

Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	8. Chapter 7

This chapter is up sooner than I thought it owuld be, but oh well. Also, I finished this story! yay! There may be an epilogue, but only if you ask after I post the last chapter.  
Skullduck: Enough with teh self-promoting. Geez, Liris, give it a break.  
Me: Whatever, I'm happy. I finished it! Ok, disclaimer. That is the point of this, right? I own a hardnacked copy of all six Artemis Fowl books, but I do not own any of the actual characters themselves. If I did, I would be Irish, male and rich. I'm none of those things, so I don't own it.

* * *

Holly walked a short way into the trees surrounding their campsite. She was out of sight, but she could still hear Butler humming as he cleaned his Sig Sauer. The manservant was leaning up against the shuttle exterior so as not to disturb Artemis in his meditations. The next hour or so could well prove pivotal in the following days. There was no sign of it now, but Butler could feel the tension in the air. Danger was on its way, as ever. And they had one officer weapon-less and ill. Not a good start.

Holly leaned against a thick Oak, moving the communicator around in the air, trying to find a signal. The screen stayed resolutely blank. She swore and clipped it back to her belt. Something was stopping the signal. Foaly wouldn't have closed the channels, not at a time like this, so it had to be a wannabe saboteur. The more that happened, the more Holly was convinced that Opal was behind this. It was exactly her style – isolate the three of them, attempt to kill them with trolls, and when that fails shoot them in their sleep. Well okay, they had waltzed into the troll encounter by themselves, but her point still stood. Plus, blocking the airwaves was definitely an Opal trait.

She pushed away from the tree to head back to the shuttle, but she hadn't taken more than three steps when dizziness overcame her. Recognising the signs for what they were this time, she stood still and called out to Butler. He was by her side in three seconds. Her vision blurred, and she stumbled. Butler caught her before she fell, and carried her back to the shuttle. She would normally have protested this treatment, but right then she trying hard not to faint in his arms like one of those fragile women in the human movies. She'd always hated those characters.

Butler managed to climb inside the shuttle with his arms full of semi-conscious elf, and he laid her on the settee Artemis had slept on the night before. Her eyelids were fluttering as she tried to remain awake. Artemis opened his own eyes to demand an explanation for the intrusion, but the words died in his mouth when he saw the state Holly was in. He slid from his seat and knelt by her side.

"Is it the same as before?"

Holly nodded, unable to form sounds that resembled speech. Artemis touched her arm where the bite was, and she hissed and arched her back. He moved his hand quickly.

"It's alright, Holly" he said, trying to keep his voice level. "We're here, you're safe."

Holly gave up the fight to stay conscious. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp. Artemis touched the wound on her arm again, this time eliciting no response. He could feel the heat emanating from it through the sleeve of the suit. It had to be the virus that was causing this reaction, but why? Why was Holly reacting to it differently than all the others? It came to him after a moment's contemplation. Holly wasn't like the others. She'd told him that the virus rarely affected humans. He had supposed this was because it fed off the magic in the host's body. Most humans had no magic, therefore nothing to offer. But perhaps it was something else. Maybe there was something in human DNA that wasn't in fairy DNA, some sort of resistance gene. Holly had his eye – a human eye. Maybe that tiny human part of her was enough to illicit the resistance. It would explain why she wasn't reacting like any of the other fairies. This reaction was her body's way of coping with the internal warfare.

Artemis was almost happy. He had a workable theory, now all he had to do was test it. He reached over to the table where the microscope still stood and selected two of the unused slide covers and a fresh slide. Then, praying that Holly would forgive him, he used the thin, sharp edge of the one of the covers to make a cut on the back of Holly's left hand. Blood welled up momentarily, and he slid the slide over the wound, smearing red across it. No sooner had he set the other cover over the sample than blue sparks healed the tiny wound. Holly coughed, but didn't wake.

Artemis examined the slide, comparing it several times with all of the other samples. There were definite differences. For starters, Holly's blood was thinner, more resembling the consistency of human blood than the others. Also, the leucocytes were active. She was fighting the virus. Artemis pushed the microscope away, grinning. He was right.

Butler had kept a puzzled silence all through Artemis's examination of the slides, but he had to say something at the look on the boy's face.

"Breakthrough?"

"Yes, Butler, definitely. Now I just need to get in contact with Foaly."

"The communications are down, Artemis."

The boy stood and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Then we'll just have to get them up again."

* * *

Holly didn't wake until almost seven the next morning. Artemis had fallen asleep watching her, and Butler was napping on the other side of the shuttle. She opened her eyes with a groan. Butler was alert at once. He smiled when he saw that she was awake.

"Welcome back" he said. She nodded, heaving herself onto her elbows. Artemis moaned and opened his eyes. His expression when he saw her sitting up was one of relief.

"Holly, you're awake."

"Apparently" she said, swinging her legs off the settee and allowing Artemis to sit beside her. "How long was I out?"

"About ten hours" Butler said. Holly turned to him, alarmed.

"What?"

"You were sleep deprived, that probably didn't help."

Holly didn't know what to say. Artemis allowed her a few seconds of silence, then explained about his theory. He faltered a little when it came to telling her that he took a sample of her blood, but he'd resolved not to lie to her again, so he briefly outlined what he'd done. She listened, but didn't interrupt either verbally or by punching him, so he finished his tale. Holly nodded and stood, stretching.

"So we have a potential cure?" she summed up. Artemis nodded.

"If Foaly can figure out a way to replicate the resistance gene, then yes."

"Good." She punched him in the arm. "That's for taking the blood."

Despite the fact that he'd just been hit, Artemis grinned. If Holly was punching him and making quips then she must be feeling better.

Butler opened the cupboard that held the food and dished out several packs of LEP rations. He swallowed his first one in two bites then started on another. Holly and Artemis hadn't even opened their ones yet. Artemis peeled back the silver foil from his, trying to remember the last time he ate. Sometime yesterday morning, he thought. There was no meat, but all the food was more than edible. Within fifteen minutes, all three had eaten their fill. Holly pushed the foil pack away from her and leaned back into the settee, closing her eyes.

"What do we do now? Go back belowground to deliver the news, or stay here and try to discover why we have no communications?"

"We stay here" Artemis said, imitating Holly's relaxed posture. "Apart from anything else, we can't risk you taking the controls in your current state, Commander."

Holly opened her eyes and glared at him before deciding that he was right. No way was she letting Fowl pilot the shuttle and Butler wouldn't fit in the cockpit, so they were grounded until she was fit to fly again. That actually suited Holly fine. She was determined to find their 'mystery fairy' and find out why they'd left a bomb and taken her gun. She sat up straight and reached for the bottle of water on the table. Gingerly, she took a sip. It still didn't taste right, but she could stomach it. Also, the wound on her arm no longer ached. That had to be a good thing, right? She passed the bottle to Artemis. He caught her eye, and both recalled the previous day's events at the same time. Artemis blushed. Holly let go of the bottle and stood, walking over to the other side of the shuttle. Butler watched this odd behaviour, and vowed to quiz them later. Something had happened, that much was obvious.

"So what now, Artemis?" he asked, when it became evident that neither of the other two were going to speak any time soon. Artemis released a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding. They were back on safe territory, conversationally at least.

"We need to work out who our fairy host was at the fort. They are probably responsible for our lack of underground communication."

Holly met his eyes, finally.

"And if they're not?"

"I was under the impression that you thought Opal was our mystery fairy."

"I do, and you're probably right that it's her blocking the airwaves, but I'm trying to cover all the bases here. If it's not Opal, and there's something else blocking our communications, what then?"

"Then, Holly, we have a big problem on our hands."

"And Opal isn't a big problem?" Holly asked incredulously. Artemis shook his head minutely.

"If it is Opal, then we know what we're dealing with. If it's something else, then we have no reference point. That makes it much harder to predict any possible motive or future movements. Right now, Opal is by far the lesser of two evils."

Holly shook her head disbelievingly. She never thought she'd see the day when Artemis would be hoping Opal was causing trouble. She sat down in the chair opposite Artemis, elbows resting on her knees.

"Okay, so assuming that it is Opal we're dealing with, what now? We can't go back to the fort; we'll get eaten without the Neutrino."

Artemis smiled his vampire smile.

"If it is Opal, then she will come to us. Patience never was a virtue she held."

Holly failed to see why Artemis was smiling. Surely Opal coming to them was a _bad_ thing? Especially if she had a fairy gun. Artemis read the thought on her expression and elaborated.

"It means that we don't have to search for her. She has eluded the LEP for three months; she must be able to hide well."

He noticed Holly glowering at him, and hurriedly moved on.

"Also, if she comes to us then we have time to plan. She won't catch us by surprise."

A loud metal snapping noise rent the air. It sounded as though all of Butler's traps had gone off simultaneously. Holly leapt to her feet, as did Butler, only to fall over when the shuttle rocked. Holly glared at Artemis from her sprawled position on the floor.

"You were saying?"

The shuttle rocked again, more violently, and Artemis joined Holly and Butler on the floor. It was safer down there, you couldn't fall. When the vehicle finally stopped shuddering, he climbed warily to his feet. There was a banging noise on the hatch, and it flew open. A small figure entered and pointed Holly's stolen Neutrino at him. Butler stood so fast the movement was a blur, Holly not far behind him. The pixie in the doorway tightened her finger on the trigger. It clicked once. Holly froze. One more click would fire the weapon, and she seriously doubted that it was set to stun. She explained quickly to Butler, who also stopped moving. Opal smiled.

"Glad you comprehend the situation, Commander. Well done on the promotion, by the way. Too bad you're not going to live long enough to enjoy your position."

Holly gritted her teeth, but didn't speak. Goading Opal may feel good at the time, but it had repercussions. She didn't want to get Artemis shot because she couldn't keep her cool. Opal's grin widened.

"Now, Mud Man, slide your primitive gun over to me. Two fingers, I believe is the correct way to do it. Now, or young Arty gets a shot in the chest."

"Artemis" the boy corrected through clenched teeth. "Not _Arty_, it's Artemis."

Opal glared at him.

"Don't answer back, Mud Boy. It's bad for your health." She returned her gaze to Butler. "The gun, if you will."

He cast a sidelong glance at Holly, who nodded resignedly. She couldn't see a way around it. Well, not one that didn't involve Artemis being shot. Butler knelt down slowly and slid the gun along the floor. It bumped against Opal's foot. She nodded, satisfied.

"Good. Now, Commander, I require your aid."

"Get lost, Opal" was Holly's elegant reply. Opal tutted.

"Co-operate, Commander Short, or your favourite Mud Boy gets hurt."

Holly exhaled hard through her nose, trying to resist the urge to punch the pixie. It wouldn't help anything. When she spoke, hatred resonated in every syllable.

"What do you want, Opal?"

Opal smiled angelically.

"Get a towel from the bathroom and tie up this human."

Holly considered refusing. Artemis caught her eye, and shook his head minutely. 'Do it' he mouthed at her. She deliberated for a heartbeat, then stalked into the bathroom and grabbed the last clean towel from the rack. She hoped Artemis had a plan.

Artemis held his hands behind his back, wrists crossed, and allowed her to bind him. She stood as close as Opal would allow her to, muttering under her breath in his ear.

"Please tell me you have a plan."

"Do as she says for now" he whispered back, lips barely moving. Opal, distracted as she was by Butler's impressive display of threats, didn't notice their conversation. "Let her tell us a few things, then you distract her and let Butler take care of her."

"And how do we communicate this insane idea to Butler?"

"He already knows."

"What, are you telepathic now?"

Artemis shook his head, but Opal chose that moment to return her attention to them, so he couldn't elaborate. She made Holly join Butler on the other side of the shuttle, then checked the restraints. In her anger, Holly had tied them tighter than she'd meant to, and they passed Opal's inspection. The pixie nodded and pushed Artemis down onto the settee. Holly inched closer to the open hatch. Just a few more steps, and she would be out. How was that for a distraction, Artemis?

Maybe Opal realised what Holly was trying to do, or maybe she was just paranoid, but she stalked over to the hatch and closed it. Holly cursed under her breath. Butler laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. Opal narrowed her eyes at the pair and motioned towards them with the gun.

"No conferring, Holly, especially not with that Mud Mountain. He's been less than pleasant towards me already, and if he persists, I shall have no choice but to shoot him. You don't want to be associated with that, trust me. Over here, if you please."

"And if I don't?" Holly shot back. Opal sighed with exaggerated patience.

"Don't push me, Commander Short. Just move."

Holly glared at her defiantly, but moved to sit on the seat opposite Artemis. She could see the disquiet in the boy's eyes. He didn't know what was going on either. Not good.

Butler made a small movement towards the pair, and Opal shot him in the chest. He fell to his knees, grunting with pain. Holly leapt to her feet, growling in anger, only to have the Neutrino shoved in her face.

"It's not a fatal shot, Short. Yet, anyway. Do as I say, or I may be tempted to up the setting."

Butler waved one hand half-heartedly in the air, trying to breathe past the immense ache in his chest. He would live. Holly regained her composure and sat, eyes never leaving Opal's grinning features.

"What do you want Opal?" she asked again. Opal smirked at her, and Holly knew immediately that she really wasn't going to like the pixie's next demand.

"I want you to mesmerise Fowl for me."

* * *

Am I evil or what? Mwahaha, cliffhanger. What will Holly do, what will Opal do? What does she want? If you want to find out, review!  
Skullduck: And she calls me evil. If you review, I will make her update, how's that? Put you all out of your misery.

Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	9. Chapter 8

You can thank RLD Flame-point Callie-co for the speed of this update. Thanks to you for the nagging!  
Skullduck: What about me? I nag!  
Me: Yes, but you also abuse me. That makes me mad, and I don't like to update when I'm upset.  
Skullduck: I don't...  
Me: *gags muse* I'll do a quick disclaimer, then leave you to it. I no own. Simple enough? Happy, are we, Mr. Lawyer men?

* * *

Artemis's eyes grew wide at Opal's statement. This was definitely not good. Holly, temper already close to the surface, shouted at the pixie. She would have stood, but the gun was pointed at her temple.

"What? No, no way."

"If you won't do it, Holly, then I have no need for you. I could always do it myself, but I thought he'd be more responsive to you. However, if you are going to refuse..."

"No" Artemis interrupted, drawing the gaze of everyone in the shuttle. "Holly will do it."

Holly stared at him.

"I can't, Artemis."

"You can. I trust you, Holly."

Opal smirked at this statement. Holly closed her eyes momentarily, then opened them again and nodded wearily. Evidently, Artemis didn't want Opal in his head.

"Fine" she said, voice resigned. Opal giggled.

"Put him to sleep, Commander."

"Why?" Holly asked suddenly. "Why do this? What could you possibly achieve from it?"

Opal paused for a second, then decided to answer Holly's question. She did love to torment the elf.

"I wish to know, without any editing, what the human has gleaned about my virus."

"_Your_ virus?" Holly asked, hoping she'd misunderstood Opal's meaning. She hadn't.

"I manufactured it, yes. I altered it to act faster. It's so much more fun that way."

The pixie giggled, and Holly realised that she actually meant it. She felt her hands curl into fists. Opal noticed the movement and flicked up the setting on the gun with her thumb.

"Put him under Commander, now, or I'll do it myself. You really don't want to be superfluous just yet."

"As opposed to being superfluous later" Butler muttered, having got his breath back. Opal briefly turned her attention to him. He was on all fours, but he still managed to look enormous. Artemis utilised the distraction to wink at Holly. She mouthed the word 'what?' at him. He glanced at Opal, who was trying to decide whether or not to shoot Butler again, then quickly replied wordlessly.

'Pretend' he mouthed. Holly shook her head minutely. Opal would see straight through it. Artemis rolled his eyes and mouthed 'do it' at her. Apparently, being tied up by Opal hadn't dampened his ability to be patronising.

Opal decided against shooting Butler again – if she killed him just now, Holly and Artemis would be less accommodating. Apparently, killing their friends didn't inspire fear and respect in those two like it should. She loosed a blast that sank into the floor by his hand, snapped at him to keep his mouth shut and returned her attention to Holly and Artemis.

"Commander?"

Holly sighed, rubbed the tips of her ears then met Artemis's gaze. He nodded. She spoke softly, voice layered with bass and alto.

"Artemis" she said, hoping that this would work. "Sleep, Artemis."

Artemis's lids drooped and his head nodded. Holly hoped he was acting, but she couldn't tell for certain. He'd fooled the entire LEP doing this once before, here was hoping he could pull off the same stunt again.

"Sleep" she repeated. Artemis's eyes closed, his head lolled onto his chest, and he fell back onto the settee. If this was an act, it was very convincing. Opal giggled. Holly really hated that sound. She ground her teeth and cast a covert glance at Butler. He had hauled himself onto his knees, and was watching her. He nodded and winked. He was ready, if Holly could provide a distraction. But what? Opal had a gun pointed at her head, what could she do that wouldn't result in unconsciousness, at the very least? Unconsciousness...that gave Holly an idea. She groaned and swayed in her seat, closing her eyes and putting a hand to her head. Opal prodded her with the Neutrino.

"What's going on here?"

"She's ill" provided Butler, who had cottoned on to Holly's plan. Not that it was particularly complicated. "She's been having fainting fits."

Holly moaned again and slid from her seat onto the floor in the foetal position. A little melodramatic maybe, but it provided the distraction Butler needed. He threw himself across the shuttle and grabbed the Neutrino from Opal's hand, knocking the tiny pixie into the table. She rolled over it, hit her head off the microscope, which Artemis hadn't bothered to put away and slumped to the floor on the other side, groaning. Holly immediately jumped to her feet, as did Artemis. Butler reached over and untied the boy's hands. He nodded his thanks, rubbing his wrists where the towel had rubbed.

"Nice acting" Holly said to him, pulling a set of handcuffs from the nearest cabinet and cuffing Opal. The pixie moaned and attempted to fire magic at Holly, in the form of lightning bolts. Artemis recalled vividly the damage those could cause, and he pulled Holly back out of harm's way, leaving Opal writhing on the floor.

"You too" he said, watching the pixie curse and flounder. It was really very enjoyable. "A little over the top maybe, but it worked."

Holly glared at him, punched him lightly in the upper arm, then returned to Opal's side. She rolled the fuming pixie onto her back and gagged her with the towel which Butler passed to her, grinning. She stood and looked around the shuttle at the mess they'd caused. She sighed.

"Foaly's going to kill me" she muttered. Artemis picked up the remains of the microscope, which had shattered when it hit the floor.

"Yes, he is" he agreed, showing the broken bits of glass and metal to her. Butler picked up his gun and opened the hatch door. Early morning light filtered into the shuttle. He picked Opal up and threw her onto the settee, where she bounced before settling face down into the material. She wriggled and made furious squeaking noises. Holly shook her head and flipped her over.

"I don't want her to suffocate just yet" she explained. "For starters, it would change the past."

"We don't want that" Artemis said, stepping outside. Opal didn't appear to have the device that was blocking the airwaves on her person, so it was probably out here somewhere. He turned in a slow circle, looking for something out of place. Where would she have stashed it? He ran his hand along the shuttle's exterior, then called inside.

"Can the invisibility function be turned off?"

He saw Holly disappear into the cockpit, and a few seconds later the shuttle shimmered into the visible spectrum. Artemis walked around it, pausing when he reached the nose. There was a small black box attached to the wall of the shuttle. He pulled it off and went back inside. Opal glared when she saw what he was holding. He opened a few cupboards, looking for some sort of tool kit with which to open the box. Holly emerged from the cockpit and watched him for a few seconds.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to find some way of opening this" he replied, not looking up from the low cupboard he was peering into. Holly reached back into the cockpit and pulled out a tiny toolbox that was used for quick repairs on the wires. She dangled it in front of his nose.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

He nodded and took it from her. It took him a few minutes to work out how the tools worked, and to get a proper grip on them, but he soon had the black box open on his lap. He'd have used the table, but it was covered in bits of broken glass. Holly fetched one of the dirty towels from the bathroom and gathered the debris into it, before tying it at the top and dumping it in a corner.

Butler had long since left the shuttle to secure the surrounding area and reset all his many traps. He wasn't sure why they'd gone off; perhaps it was in response to the vast amount of magical energy Opal had used to rock the shuttle. He glanced back at it and winced. There were large dents in the metal walls, presumably caused by some of Opal's lightning bolts.

He turned back to the trap he was working on. It had gotten clogged with leaves when it had gone off. He spent a couple of minutes cleaning it, then paused, frowning. There was a small irregularity in the metal, a tiny dip near the edge. He turned the trap over and saw a tiny silver device, which looked almost identical to a credit card, secured to the base. He put it down and called to Holly. Whatever the thing was, it was of fairy manufacture. Holly emerged and made her way over to him. She grimaced when she saw the damage Opal had inflicted to the shuttle.

"Foaly is going to have my hide" she muttered, then turned her attention to the trap at Butler's feet. She narrowed her eyes at the device.

"What is it?" Butler asked her. She shrugged.

"I have no idea. Let's ask Opal."

* * *

Holly knelt in front of Opal and pulled the towel from her mouth. Immediately, Opal came out with a string of mixed swear words and curses. Holly frowned and slapped her. She stopped talking, glowering at the elf. It was hard to tell which face held more hatred.

"Alright, Opal. There's a silver card on one of the traps out there. I know you put it there. What is it?"

Actually, Holly knew nothing of the sort, but if you had advanced, potentially hostile technology, and Opal within walking distance, it was a fair bet that the two were related. Opal shrugged. Holly shook her head.

"Not biting, Opal. You know what it is, so just tell me."

"It's the signal blocker" Artemis said. Holly turned to face him, but registered the momentary look of shock on Opal's face. He was right.

"Then what is that?" she asked, pointing at the box at his feet. Artemis held up a fibre-optic cable.

"She was hijacking the internal cameras. She wanted to watch this back later."

Holly nodded. That sounded like Opal. She threw her Neutrino to Butler and told him to destroy it. Opal glared and stood.

"That blocker is one of a kind. You can't just blast it!"

"Watch me" Holly snapped, roughly gagging Opal again and pushing her back onto the settee. Artemis watched with satisfaction. It felt good to see Opal getting a taste of her own medicine. There was a muted smashing sound from outside, then Butler returned and handed Holly back her Neutrino. She nodded thanks and went into the cockpit to attempt to contact Foaly. He answered immediately, whinnying in relief.

"Holly, thank Frond. Where have you been? Why didn't you answer?"

"Communication error" she said, and allowed him to see the live feed from the passenger area. Foaly's eyes widened.

"What did you do to the shuttle?" he asked, sounding horrified. Holly rolled her eyes.

"Opal was blocking the airwaves, that's why we couldn't get through. She attacked us, hence the mess."

"What state is she in?"

"Who, Opal? She's fine, I didn't hurt her...yet, anyway."

"Not Opal, the shuttle. Tell me you didn't wreck her."

Holly vowed to kick Foaly when she got back belowground.

"We're all fine, thanks for your concern."

"Glad it came across."

Holly shook her head, then told Foaly exactly what had happened since they'd lost contact. The centaur winced.

"Ouch. Good job I sent a Retrieval team out to you."

"What? When?"

"When you didn't answer the fifteen messages I left you. They should be with you soon. They can take Opal back with them, and you can follow. Bring Arty belowground too, he can show me his wondrous breakthrough, and hopefully play donor."

"Donor?"

"We don't keep human blood down here, Holls."

"I know that" she said. "Can't you get some from another source?"

"Why? Don't you want me bleeding your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend" she snapped. Foaly reared back, surprised.

"I know that, Holls. I was joking. Besides anything else, he's a human. Now Trouble, there's a smart match for you."

"Drop it Foaly, I don't need you to play matchmaker."

"Hey, I'm married now. I'm allowed to do these things. He's smart, he's well paid, he's good looking..."

"Foaly, I said leave it."

"...plus he likes you. He's better than a Mud Man any day" the centaur finished, smirking. Holly sighed and shook her head in despair.

"My love life is none of your concern, Foaly. Can we please get back on topic?"

It wasn't a request so much as a demand. There was steel in her tone that Foaly had never heard there before. In Root's voice certainly, all the time, but Holly had always been much more relaxed. Maybe it _was_ Commandership that drove people crazy.

"Fine, _Commander_" he quipped. "Retrieval should be with you in about five minutes. If it pleases your highness to follow the lowly officers belowground, then I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Holly shook her head as he cut the connection. He could be so touchy sometimes.

* * *

Artemis tired quickly of the evil looks Opal was sending his way. He stood and made his way to the door of the cockpit, pausing just outside when he heard his own name being mentioned.

"Bring Arty belowground too, he can show me his wondrous breakthrough, and hopefully play donor."

"Donor?" Holly asked. Artemis already knew where this was headed, and he didn't much like it. Foaly responded patronisingly, and made a 'boyfriend' crack. Artemis started. He'd been the butt of Foaly's relationship jokes before, but never the subject. What startled him even more was Holly's response. He hadn't expected her to take it lying down, but neither had he anticipated her outright denial, especially after what had happened the day before. Foaly, when he spoke, sounded almost as surprised as Artemis felt.

"I know that, Holls. I was joking. Besides anything else, he's a human. Now Trouble, there's a smart match for you."

Artemis couldn't take any more of this. He left the shuttle. There was a tight feeling in his chest, as though his breathing was being restricted. Butler, kneeling to reset the last trap, noticed the confused, somewhat hurt look on the boy's face and stood.

"Artemis? What happened?"

The boy tried to wave it away, as though it was nothing. Butler wasn't fooled.

"Tell me the truth, Artemis."

Artemis looked up sharply. He got orders from Holly all the time, but very rarely from Butler. He opened his mouth to attempt to relay some of what he was feeling, but was interrupted by Holly. She stuck her head out the hatch and called over to them.

"Retrieval are on their way, Dom. Could you clear up the traps? I don't want to hurt my own men."

Butler nodded and bent to disengage the one nearest to him. Holly walked over to them and watched him do it, frowning.

"Can I just stick a twig or something in them?" she asked. If she tried to do what Butler had just done, she'd impale herself. Butler shook his head.

"Needs more force. Try blasting them, that'll set them off."

She nodded and set off to the other side of the clearing. Artemis watched her go.

"She's really something, huh?" Butler prompted, trying to get Artemis talking. The boy wrenched his thoughts away from yesterday's kiss and nodded absently. Butler stood.

"What happened?" he asked again. Artemis took a breath, then relayed in undertones the conversation he'd heard between Holly and Foaly. He stopped when Holly got closer – he didn't want her to know the confusion she was causing him. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Alright Fowl, what is it?"

He was saved answering by the arrival of the Retrieval shuttle. The hatch opened and several black-suited elves emerged. A few fanned out to check that the area was secure, three went into the damaged shuttle to check on Opal, and one walked over to Holly.

"Commander" he said, saluting and raising his visor.

"Captain Vein" she replied. "How's Trouble?"

Artemis looked away.

"Hanging in there" Vein replied. "Believe it or not, I actually miss the head-slapping." Holly smiled sadly and nodded.

"We may have a cure..." she began, but Vein interrupted.

"We know. Foaly briefed us on the way over."

The three officers came out of the shuttle that Holly had 'borrowed', carrying Opal between them. They had tied her ankles together to stop her kicking them. She squirmed as much as she could, muffled curses emanating from behind the gag. The officers took her into the Retrieval shuttle and chained her up in the holding area. Vein called to the elves spread out around the clearing.

"Alright, we're good to go! Check there's no trace, and back on board. Ma'am" he said to Holly, saluting once more. "If you would follow us."

"In that shuttle?" called out one of the elves. "It'd be lucky to get off the ground, let alone fly all the way home."

Vein gestured to the elf to get on board, yelling at him to show respect. Holly wondered exactly when Vein had started treating her in such a manner. It was odd to be called ma'am and saluted to, to say the least.

"He's right" she said when the elf had gotten back into the shuttle. "It won't fly. I checked earlier, the engines are shot."

"We can't tow it, not with our vehicle. I'll have to make a return journey to pick you up."

Holly nodded reluctantly. Another day in the Italian forest, in a damaged shuttle. Not what she wanted, but what choice did she have? She watched the Retrieval vehicle take off and disappear into the sky.

* * *

Well, they're alone again. More A/H on the way, promise. I just love to torment these two, I can't help it. Indulge me. And yes, I know the confrontation with Opal was over rather fast, but there is a method in my madness.  
Skullduck: She says that all the time.  
Me: Yes, and I mean it too. Please review, it means a lot to both of us. Thanks for reading, and next update will be on, ooh, Friday? Saturday? One of the two, depending on when I can access this computer again.

Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	10. Chapter 9

Okay, update as promised! More A/H on the way, 'cus I'm just that much of an obsessive about this pairing. I tried to keep them in character, not sure how well I managed it. Let me know?  
Disclaimer: If I owned it, A/H would have happened around book 4. Therefore, not mine. Oh, except for the stuff that is - OC!!!  
Skullduck: She's trying to be witty.  
Me: *rolls eyes* You can't stay out of the disclaimer, can you?  
Skullduck: *smirks* Nope. It wouldn't be the same if I didn't pop up.  
Me: No, it would be quieter and saner.  
Skullduck: 'Saner' isn't a word.  
Me: *pulls out dictionary* Just let them read it already.

* * *

Artemis watched Holly from the corner of his eye. She stared after the Retrieval shuttle until it faded from sight. Was she wishing she was on board? That she didn't have to stay here? He wasn't sure. He didn't know how to read her any more. Her reaction to Foaly's 'boyfriend' joke had been so vehement, was it anger at herself for kissing him, or anger at Foaly for bringing it up? Or something else entirely?

Artemis shook the questions from his head as Holly turned to face him. They wouldn't help anything just now, but he would have to ask Butler for his opinion later. The manservant had been talking to Holly; Artemis had seen the two of them together. Maybe he knew what was going on in her head.

"We're stuck here for the next few hours" Holly said. Butler nodded.

"Should I reset the traps again?"

Holly shrugged.

"You can if you want to, but I think I may have broken one of them. Sorry about that."

She gestured over to the one that the silver device had been attached to. The same one that had gone off by itself the day before. That must have been when Opal attached the blocker, Artemis thought. It hadn't kicked in until later – maybe she'd remote activated it once she was out of sight. But if that was the case, then why not burst in on them straight away? Why wait ten hours? She knew where they were, and they'd all been asleep for most of the night. Holly had passed out – she would have seen that if she'd been in the area, and the distraction in the shuttle may not have worked. The same thing had happened at the fort, when Holly's gun had gone missing. If Opal had been the one who'd taken the Neutrino and set the signal blocker, then she'd have known about Holly's fainting fits, but she hadn't. She'd asked what was going on. Why hadn't he seen it earlier?

"Opal wasn't alone" he said, startling the other two, who'd been discussing whether or not it was worth resetting all the traps. They stared at him. He told them what he'd just figured out. Holly's eyes went wide.

"D'Arvit" she muttered, then ran back into the shuttle. She pulled her communicator from her belt and called Foaly. He answered on the second ring.

"Holly. Why does my locator say that you're still in Calcini?"

"Because I am. Opal wasn't working alone" she said rapidly, avoiding any questions about the shape the shuttle was in. Foaly frowned.

"She rarely does" he pointed out, tapping away at his keyboard. "Firstly there was Cudgeon, then those idiot Brill brothers..."

"Yes, alright. The point is, Opal's accomplice is still out here somewhere, and we don't know who they are."

"Male" Foaly profiled, taking into account her past helpers. "Probably not quite the full shilling. They'd have to be mad to work with Opal."

Holly agreed with him there.

"Where should we look for them? The fort?"

Foaly shrugged.

"Even money they won't be there. They might have been watching your little scuffle with Opal, then legged it when she lost. They might be at the fort, but alternately they could be halfway across the Atlantic."

"Great" Holly muttered, pulling a helmet out of the same cupboard the microscope had been stashed in. She put it on and shut the communicator. Foaly transferred his feed to her helmet, opening up a small window on the visor.

"You can be there in a few minutes if you fly, Holls. I presume you're going to the fort."

"You presume correct" she said, turning around and almost walking into Artemis.

"Will you please make a noise when you walk?" she asked him, raising the visor. Artemis raised one eyebrow, ignoring her question.

"You are returning to the fort?" he asked. She nodded.

"Well, don't be long" he said, voice cool. "The Retrieval team will be back soon to pick us up."

"Pick you up?" came a worried voice in Holly's ear. "Why do you need picking up? What state is the shuttle in?"

Holly glared at the boy in front of her.

"Thanks for that, Arty."

"Artemis" he corrected, and left the shuttle. Holly watched him go, confused. He was acting very strangely. Foaly's concerned whinnying distracted her from this train of thought, demanding to know what was the matter with his precious shuttle. Holly sighed, closed the visor and pulled on a set of Hummingbirds. She started the wings up whilst still in the shuttle, turned sideways to fly out of hatch, and spiralled into the air, shielding as she went.

"Opal blasted it" she said. Foaly immediately went from concerned to fuming.

"Why that little... I'll get her for this. That's criminal damage, on top of everything else..."

Holly muted him, letting him vent his anger. He could bring up the volume again when he was done. For now, she concentrated on getting to the fort.

* * *

Artemis followed Holly into the shuttle, leaving Butler to reset a few of his traps. She was pulling a helmet from one of the cupboards, muttering under her breath. She turned around and stopped dead centimetres from his chest.

"Will you please make a noise when you walk?" she demanded, raising her visor. Artemis ignored her. He had wanted to talk to her about the incident – read kiss – the day before, but it was evident that she was going somewhere, and he really didn't want to talk to her about it with Foaly eavesdropping.

"You are returning to the fort?" he guessed. It was a reasonable assumption to make that the accomplice would be there. She nodded.

"Well, don't be long. The Retrieval team will be back soon to pick us up." he said, voice swiftly reverting to the cold tones of his earlier years. He couldn't hear Foaly, but he knew the centaur must be listening in. Holly narrowed her eyes at him.

"Thanks for that, Arty" she said sarcasm thick in her voice. He frowned.

"Artemis" he corrected, then left the shuttle to find Butler. Why was she using his nickname? Did she like him or not? He turned around as she flew out of the shuttle, pirouetting in mid air before turning on her shield. Holly confused him, something that nothing and nobody had ever managed to do before. He didn't like this feeling of not knowing.

Butler's hand on his shoulder startled him. The manservant spoke softly, assuming the role of a father figure.

"Why does her reaction to Foaly matter so much if nothing did happen between you?"

Artemis sighed and shook his head. Butler knew full well that something had occurred; he just didn't know the exact nature of the event.

"She kissed me" Artemis said, voice quiet. "Twice."

Butler had expected some sort of intimacy, but not a repetition. Not with the awkwardness between the two.

"Twice?" he clarified. Artemis nodded, explaining about the incident in the gorilla cage eight years or just three months ago, depending on your point of view.

"I thought later that it was because of the reverse aging, but after yesterday..."

"She kissed you again?"

Artemis nodded, surprised by the smile on Butler's face.

"I think that she's just as confused as you are, Artemis."

"What if Foaly's right?" the boy asked, sounding for once like the teenager he was. "We are different species, and Trouble would be a better match."

Butler shook his head.

"Holly will do what she wants to do, regardless of what's better for her."

With that, Butler returned to the shuttle and pulled the last of the foil packs out of the cabinet. There were supposed to be enough rations in there to support a full team, consisting of ten fairies, for five days. Their supply had barely lasted two days. It was a good job that they were getting out of here soon.

Artemis joined Butler, thinking about what he'd said. Holly had dived into the Arctic sea for him, she'd allowed herself to be captured by Minerva, and she'd even died for him. Butler was right; Holly wasn't big on the whole self-preservation thing. Not where Artemis was concerned, at least. And he'd repaid her by lying and blackmailing her. What right did he have now to question her? He picked at the fairy food. When she got back, he owed her an apology.

* * *

Holly reached the fort within five minutes using the wings. She pulled the Neutrino from her belt before approaching the door. It was swinging open.

"Any handy hints, Foaly?"

"Yeah" he replied, having finished his rant. "Don't go in there unarmed."

Holy levelled her gun at the entrance and proceeded inside slowly. She could hear noises from down the steps. It sounded like someone crying and running. The sounds got louder; the person was coming up the stairs. Holly flattened herself against the tree, out of sight of the door. Moments later, a small elf ran out. Holly grabbed his arm as he ran past her, bringing him squealing to a stop. The elf turned rapidly, an old Koboi wing rig swinging on his arm. Holly ducked to avoid getting whacked in the nose. The elf was sobbing hysterically, talking about trolls. He sank to his knees, crying.

Holly wasn't sure what to do with him. He was obviously terrified; she wasn't going to get any sense out of him like this. She knelt by his side, noting the tears in his clothing. They weren't due to troll tusks, that much she was sure of – if they had been, the elf would be dead already due to the venom. They could have been made by claws, she supposed.

There was a growling noise from the open doorway, and the sound of heavy footsteps. The trolls had forced themselves past the bright lights of the main hallway and into the dark of the stairwell. Holly stood and fired several shots into the currently vacant entrance. She heard howling and the trolls stopped; even they weren't stupid enough to run into laser fire. She lunged for the metal door and slammed it shut. The catch caught, and she sealed the door by running a concentrated burst around the edges. The metal melted, effectively welding the door shut. She could hear thumping on the other side, but the metal held.

"Nicely done" commented Foaly, who had been watching the events in silence. Holly ignored him and turned to the young elf who'd run out of the fort. He had stopped crying, and was now staring at her in awe. She raised the visor and wiped sweat from her forehead. It was hot in the helmet.

"You're Holly Short" he said, voice much higher than Holly had anticipated. She nodded warily, and the elf's eyes grew wider.

"You're nothing like she said."

"Like who said?" Holly asked, hoping that this was their accomplice. For once, please, let their lives be easy.

"Ms Koboi" the elf said. Holly sighed in relief. The elf wittered on.

"She said that you were evil and that you were hunting her for no reason but you can't be evil you just saved me you were really brave you know I couldn't have done that it was amazing the way you just..."

Holly put her hand over his mouth to shut him up. He made a few muffled noises, then stopped talking. Holly removed her hand. He grinned sheepishly at her.

"Gee" muttered Foaly "talk about a motor mouth."

"What's your name?" she asked, ignoring the centaur's comments. Foaly would want to run the name she was sure.

"Devlin Bard" came the prompt answer. "My mum says that it's apt 'cus I talk all the time she says I should write stuff down and if I write as well as I talk then I could make a fortune from books and..." He smiled. "Sorry."

Holly could tell that if she spent any amount of time in his company, she was either going to get a headache or end up stunning him with her Neutrino. She could hear Foaly tapping at his keyboard in her ear. He responded almost immediately.

"Devlin Bard" he said, sounding very pleased with himself. "Reported missing three weeks ago by his father. Was I right or what, Holls? Didn't I tell you it would be a runaway?"

Holly cut the link, leaving Foaly to his ego trip. She closed her eyes briefly, then spoke to Devlin again, fully aware that she would probably regret asking.

"What did you do for Opal?"

"She gave me some stuff and told me that it was going to help her get free and then she'd take me with her and we could get live on the surface again without being afraid of the Mud Men..."

Holly glared at Devlin, and he shut up.

"Specifically" she said. Devlin thought about it for a moment.

"She wanted me to rewire the fort so that the light would keep the trolls away from her work areas and she gave me a silver card and said that if anyone came to the fort then I should follow them and put in somewhere by their camp."

"Did you take my gun?"

Devlin frowned, and for the first time he sounded uncertain.

"I found it lying at the bottom of the steps and I picked it up."

That, thought Holly, was probably the shortest sentence he'd ever spoken in his life.

"How did you keep the trolls away whilst you were rewiring the fort?"

"Oh they weren't there then Opal brought them later she had some sort of medallion that kept them controlled it was shaped like an acorn..."

He continued talking, but Holly wasn't listening. The acorn had controlled the trolls, and they had removed it, which was presumably why they'd attacked Devlin just. If it could control trolls, what else could it do? She had thought it was just a bomb – she'd have to get Foaly to look into that. Finally, Devlin stopped talking and just stared at her.

"Ms Short?" he said. Holly snapped out of her reverie. She gestured to the wings slung over his arm.

"Do those work?"

"Of course that's how I followed you before I couldn't see where you went exactly is your camp invisible that's so cool..."

Holly left him to it, started up her own wings and took off. Devlin yelped and copied her. She hovered just above the tree line, waiting for him, then took off back towards the shuttle when he'd caught up with her. Usually, she wouldn't give a suspect so much freedom, but Devlin was too innocent to cause her any harm. If he'd wanted to hurt her, he could have done so when she'd fainted. He may talk her to death, but he wouldn't willingly cause her physical harm. He was still talking as they flew, but thankfully they were moving too fast for Holly to make most of it out. She called over to him when he paused for breath.

"How did you know how to rewire the fort?"

"My dad's an engineer he was working on the fort at Tara replacing some of the fuse wires and I wondered off 'cus it was boring and Opal found me and gave me the wings and brought me to Italy that was about a month ago I think I'm not sure."

He finally ran out of breath just as they landed at the campsite. Butler heard them approach and looked out the open hatch. Devlin squeaked and hid behind Holly. She rolled her eyes and moved to the side, leaving him exposed.

"Dom, this is Devlin. Devlin, this is Butler, and this" she pointed as Artemis made an appearance in the doorway "is Artemis Fowl."

Devlin's eyes went very wide again. He'd seen the two humans earlier, but he hadn't known who they were. Butler looked enormous and absolutely terrifying close up.

"Wow I've heard the stories about you three did you really go to the Arctic and to America and then travel into the past and rescue the demons and..."

Holly rolled her eyes and climbed into the shuttle, pulling off the helmet and helping herself to one of the ration packs. Artemis sat beside her, eyeing Devlin as he clambered inside and started praising everything from the decor to the food.

"Is this normal?" he asked in undertones. Holly shook her head.

"Gods, I hope not. He's been like this the whole way here, and if he keeps up I'll end up strangling him."

Devlin eventually ran out of things to say about the shuttle and returned to wittering on about Holly and Artemis's supposed adventures. Butler grew tired of this very quickly, especially as most of what the elf said was untrue. He cracked his knuckles loudly. Devlin blanched and shut up, seemingly concentrating very hard on his ration pack. There was blissful silence for several minutes, then Artemis asked why Devlin was there. That set him off again, talking about Opal and the things she'd told him.

"...but I don't think they're true anymore, 'cus you've all been so nice to me..."

Holly stood and left the shuttle. She'd heard this spiel before. Artemis frowned.

"If you knew about what happened in the Arctic, then why did you trust Opal?"

Devlin frowned, as though he hadn't thought about it like that before.

"She was very convincing the way she spoke and she was really pretty and acted nice to me and..."

Artemis regretted asking. He too left the shuttle. Devlin made to follow, but Butler put one hung hand on his shoulder and told him to stay put. Devlin sat and silence once again reigned.

* * *

Artemis followed Holly a short way into the forest surrounding them. He could still see the shuttle through the trees, and heard exactly the moment when Devlin stopped talking.

"I wish I could do that" Holly said. He turned his attention to her.

"What?"

"Shut him up."

Artemis smiled and moved closer to her. She looked at him.

"Are you alright? You were acting odd earlier."

He recalled his cold tone as she'd left the shuttle.

"Yes, err, I'm fine."

Had he actually said 'err'? Holly tilted her head to one side.

"Ok, now I know something's wrong. What is it?"

Artemis took a breath. This was his chance.

"I wanted to talk to you about..."

"About?"

"About what happened yesterday" he finished. Why could he not just say it properly? Holly mouthed 'oh' and looked at the floor.

"Yes, that. I'm sorry, Artemis, I..."

"Don't be" he interrupted. She looked up. He was closer than she'd thought.

"What?"

"Don't be sorry" he said. He had to say it now. He looked into her eyes, and the words flew out of his head. "I, um, I..."

He was stuttering. He, Artemis Fowl. He never stuttered. He was never nervous enough to stutter. Holly just watched him. Eventually, he gave up trying to speak. Instead, he leaned in, closed the gap between them, and kissed her.

* * *

So, was it okay? Did you like Devlin? Was he as annoying as I was attempting to write him?  
Skullduck: She wasnt you to review.  
Me: Well, yes. Please. Oh, and Skullduck, 'saner' is a word. So there. *sticks out tongue and shows dictionary*  
Skullduck: *rolls eyes* You see what I have to work with?

Next update will be Monday. See you then!

Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	11. Chapter 10

So, people like the kiss last chapter. I culdn't leave it simply though, 'cus let's face, Arty has too much bad karma. Guess who's watching...  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except Devlin.

* * *

Foaly closed the communicator with a snap, smiling. It wasn't often the LEP got deliver good news to distressed families. Of course, it usually fell to the Commander to make these sorts of calls, but with Trouble in the IC unit and Holly in Italy, he'd taken it upon himself to contact the Bard family. At first he'd attempted to make the call via the Ops Booth, but the Bard's didn't have a vidphone. Honestly, this day in age who used a normal mobile phone, like a Mud Man? Even Holly had a communicator with a video linkage. Talking about Holly, he should probably check on her. Ensure that she hadn't killed the over-talkative Devlin from sheer frustration. That would be a tough one to explain after the phone call he'd just made.

He trotted over to the nearest computer and opened the link to Holly's communicator, pulling the feed up onto the large plasma screen. It was so much more enjoyable to gloat when you could see the person's reactions in minute detail. For several seconds, the screen stayed black. He could just imagine Holly grumbling as she pulled the communicator from her belt. Finally, the device was answered, showing a view of the shuttle interior to the horrified centaur. What had Holly done to the vehicle? It looked like a bomb had gone off in there.

Butler's head appeared in the view screen, blocking the shuttle from view.

"Yes, Foaly?" he asked, seeing the centaur on the tiny com screen in his hand. In the background, Foaly could hear Devlin talking about LEP technology. Apparently, even Butler's immense stature couldn't shut the elf up for long.

"Where is Holly?" Foaly demanded. She'd told him that Opal had blasted the shuttle, but he hadn't imagined this much of a mess. He was going to complain loudly and for a long period of time. Butler shot Devlin a look to stop him commenting on the wonders of video conferencing.

"She's outside, hold on."

Telling Devlin sharply to 'stay there', Butler stepped from the shuttle and proceeded in the direction of Artemis and Holly's voices. Foaly had a view of the clear turquoise Italian sky before Butler pointed the unit's camera at the woods. Foaly highly doubted that the human had done this on purpose, because what Foaly was seeing was incredible. It drove all thought of the state of the shuttle from his head. Artemis wouldn't like the centaur to see this. Actually, neither would Holly.

Artemis had leaned forward and kissed the elfin Commander lightly on the lips. For a second she stiffened, then she relaxed into it and put one hand on the boy's neck, pulling him closer. After he'd gotten over the initial shock, Foaly felt a wide grin spread over his face. 'He's not my boyfriend'. Ha, yeah right Holls.

Chix Verbil was passing the Ops Booth, when he heard Foaly sniggering inside. The door was partially open, so he decided to sneak a peek at what the centaur was finding so amusing. What he saw made his eyes open wide.

"Is that...?" the sprite asked Foaly, wanting to ensure that yesterday's bar hop with his brother wasn't making him hallucinate.

"Yep" answered Foaly, not even able to be irritated that Chix had walked in uninvited. "That's Holly and Artemis."

"Nice one Fowl!" whistled Chix, grin threatening to actually touch his ears. Holly was never going to live this down, Commander or not.

* * *

For quite possibly the first time in his life, Artemis acted spontaneously. He hadn't planned this, and he had no idea how Holly would react. Was this how normal people operated?

He didn't touch Holly, other than with his lips. If she was going to punch him, he wanted to be able to withdraw quickly. He felt her tense, and pulled back to get more space between his arm and her fists. She raised her hand to keep him in place, and kissed him back. He hadn't really been expecting this reaction, if he was completely honest. Not after the conversation he'd overheard, and all the awkwardness there had been between them. Still, he wasn't going to argue with it.

His hand made contact with her waist. She didn't protest the touch, so he allowed his fingers to trail up her side. She shivered and pulled out of the kiss.

"That tickles" she said. Artemis smiled. So, she was ticklish. He stored that away for future reference. Her hand was still on his shoulder. He covered it with his own and looked into her eyes from inches away.

Butler coughed, bringing the two back to Earth. Holly pulled her arm back to her side, a blush starting up on her cheeks. It grew more pronounced when he told her who was on the communicator. She stalked over and grabbed it, face red. Butler sent Artemis a knowing grin. The boy smiled back self-consciously. Foaly was never going to let them forget this.

Holly glared at the centaur through the video link. Foaly was having hysterics over the workbench. And was that Chix she could see in the background? She groaned. This was going to be the worst-kept secret in LEP history. IA would be all over her. There were no rules against human/fairy relationships so long as the human was – quoting the Book – 'the People's friend'. Artemis definitely fit into that category, but that wouldn't stop IA investigating her. Again.

"Hi Commander" Foaly chuckled, once he'd gotten his merriment under control.

"What did you want?" she snapped. Foaly just grinned at her.

"So, not your boyfriend, huh?"

Holly moved away from Artemis. This was awkward enough without him listening in.

"I already told you, centaur. My love life is none of your concern. Now, just tell me why you called. And Verbil, get out of there and do some work."

Chix saluted and left the room, still chuckling. Holly sighed. The LEP sprites would have a field day with this. By the time she got back to Haven, there would probably be pink hearts strewn all over her office.

"I just wanted to tell you that I contacted Devlin's parents, and they're coming to Police Plaza in three hours to pick him up. Will that give you enough time? I can always call them back if you and Artemis want some more alone time..."

Holly gritted her teeth and resolved to kick Foaly somewhere painful when she got back. Or maybe she'd take a leaf out of Trouble's book and start slapping the sprites who cheeked her upside the head.

"Three hours will be fine, provided Captain Vein gets back here within the next hour."

"Good. I don't want to interrupt you if you're busy..."

"I swear Foaly, one more word and I'll..."

"My lips are sealed, Commander. I'll send Vein straight back up as soon as he's dropped Opal off. Should I warn him to knock, or..."

Holly snapped the communicator shut, but resisted the urge to throw it. She'd just have to search for it again. Damn that centaur and his timing! She swore under her breath and closed her eyes, trying to get her temper back under control.

Artemis's hand on her shoulder made her jump. She span around and nearly elbowed him in the stomach.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Artemis raised one eyebrow. Apparently, Foaly's habit of driving the Commander crazy wasn't limited to Root. Holly took a breath and realised that she'd snapped.

"Sorry, Artemis. That D'Arvitting centaur..."

She trailed off, cursing under her breath in gnomish too fast for the boy to make out what she was saying.

Artemis smiled at her softly, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. Holly liked him. Everything else they could work out later, the important bit was out in the open.

"What are you grinning at, Fowl? The entire LEP is going to know about this within the next hour. I'm going to be hearing about in non-stop for the next century, and you're not going to fare any better. Remember, Foaly can hack your system."

That wiped the smile off the boy's face. He removed his hand from Holly's shoulder, vowing silently to increase his security exponentially. He didn't like mockery, unless he was the one doing the mocking. Holly shook her head, finally back in control of her temper, and lead the way back to the shuttle. If Vein was coming back soon, then there were things she needed to sort out – like the tow cord, for example. It was in the shuttle somewhere, though where was anybody's guess.

Devlin gaped at the pair as they entered the vehicle. Despite Butler's warning, he had ventured outside and had witnessed the event. Holly muted her groan as he started talking loudly about it.

"...and then you kissed her!" he said, turning to the unfortunate Artemis, who was closest to him. Holly utilised this distraction to escape into the cockpit. Artemis watched her go. Devlin noticed the look on the human's face, and stopped talking midsentence.

"You really like her don't you?"

Artemis wasn't sure what surprised him more, the young elf's observation skills or the shortness of the question. He nodded slightly and picked his careful way over to the cockpit door, shutting it behind him. As it turned out, it wasn't soundproof – he could still hear Devlin on the other side, talking at them through the partition. Holly was sitting in the pilot's chair, shaking her head.

"If he doesn't shut up, I'm going to gag him. Or stun him, whichever's easier."

Artemis settled into the co-pilot's seat, smiling at her. It was a genuine smile for once. Artemis couldn't remember ever smiling like this before he'd met Holly. It was usually his trademark vampire smirk. Talking of vampires...

"How's your arm?" he asked softly. Holly met his gaze.

"How did you get to that from me threatening Devlin?" she wondered aloud. Artemis didn't go for the distraction. He leaned in and touched her arm gently where he knew the mark was. Holly pulled back from him and lifted her sleeve to expose the bruise. It was red now, as opposed to purple, but it still looked angry and sore.

"It's better than it was" she answered him. "and I haven't fainted today."

She pulled her sleeve back down and knelt to see under the dashboard. Artemis watched her rummage for a few seconds, then asked what she was looking for.

"Tow rope" she grunted without emerging. "It's supposed to be in here somewhere, but I can't see it. Frond only knows where it's got to."

She crawled out backwards and sat up, shaking her head. Artemis shrugged.

"Perhaps it's in the back?"

"Maybe" was Holly's vague response. Artemis got the impression that she wasn't actually thinking about the rope.

"What's on your mind?" he inquired, drawing Holly's complete attention. She sighed.

"Nothing really. Just, you know. What happened out there."

"The kiss" Artemis said. Holly nodded and stood, running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah, that. It's just... How can this work?" she finished lamely, unsure how to voice her concerns. Artemis knew what she was getting at.

"You mean the human/elf thing." He comprehended, warranting another nod from Holly. She shrugged. "I don't think it will be an issue."

"How can it not be an issue? We're different species!"

"Not exactly. Holly, you're fighting the virus because you have one of my eyes. That makes you part human, as my having your eye makes me part elfin. Our DNA is mixed anyway – we're the same."

Okay, so that was a bit of a stretch. A lot of a stretch actually, but the principle was there. Neither of them was entirely one species. Holly bit her lip as she thought about this.

"There's still the issue of age, and height, and..."

Artemis interrupted, comfortably back in lecture mode.

"We don't know how the mix of genes will affect us. It might lengthen my life, or it might make you grow. Even if it doesn't, other people manage to cope with their differences."

"No other couple in history has had to cope with this many differences" muttered Holly, but there was no bite in it. Artemis was right. The boy smiled thinly and stood.

"Perhaps the rope is in the passenger area?" he suggested, opening the door and walking out. Holly sighed and followed him, opening various cupboards and eventually finding the tow rope in the very top overhead locker. She stood on the table to reach it. It was heavier than she'd thought it would be, and she lost her balance as she dragged it out. It hit the floor with a thump, and would have been followed by Holly if Artemis hadn't caught her at the last second.

"Smooth" came a voice from the doorway. Captain Vein stood there, grinning at them. Artemis let go of Holly's waist, and she bent to pick the rope up.

"Thanks Arty" she said, smiling at the boy, then turned and almost threw the rope at Vein. It hit him in the stomach and winded him slightly. Holly steered him out of the shuttle and helped him to secure the damaged shuttle to the one he'd come in. The rope was made of similar thread to the piton cords, but was considerably thicker to prevent the towed vehicle from swinging too much. They stretched it tightly between the shuttles and attached it using a pair of magnetic clamps which Vein provided. The ropes were going nowhere until one of the elves removed them by hand.

Butler returned to the clearing, arms full of decommissioned traps, and barely avoided walking into the rope. Only Holly's sharp warning prevented injury – if he'd fallen on the traps he'd have done some serious damage. Artemis emerged from the damaged shuttle at her exclamation, followed closely by Devlin, who was – once again – talking incessantly about how Artemis had kissed Holly in the woods. Captain Vein's face wore on odd expression as he listened to the young elf's monologue; it looked as though he was trying not to grin. Holly noticed this, and scowled.

"Devlin, shut up and get into the new shuttle. Captain, likewise. Get her ready to fly."

The two elves fell silent at the look on her face, and did as she said. Devlin had heard tales of Holly's aim, and Vein had first-hand experience with her fists. Neither wanted to be in the firing line. Holly glared at them until they were on board, then took some of the traps from Butler and helped him to stow them in the damaged shuttle.

"We're all flying in the new shuttle" she explained as she shoved a particularly large trap into an empty cupboard. "This one will swing about too much. Even if we had working gyroscopes, it would make you ill. Still, let's put these somewhere safe. I don't want to give Foaly any more reason to moan."

She locked the hatch and hopped on board Vein's shuttle. The Captain was hovering near the cockpit. He seemed nervous.

"Are you going to fly her, Commander?"

That explained it, thought Artemis. Holly certainly had a taste for acrobatics. That would make any sane person nervous.

Holly shook her head and sat in the last free chair. It was, of course, next to Artemis. She strongly suspected that the others had left it empty on purpose.

"You do it, Captain."

Vein obviously hadn't expected this, because he faltered before replying.

"Yes ma'am."

He disappeared into the cockpit, shutting the door behind him. Artemis immediately turned to face Holly.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're rubbing your arm" he pointed out. Holly looked down, and sure enough the boy was right. She moved her hands to lie on her lap.

"I'm fine" she said firmly. Artemis noticed Devlin watching with interest, so he kept his questions vague. The young elf was too curious for his own good.

"Is it happening again?"

"No. I'm a little dizzy, but that's all."

The shuttle rocked a little as they took off, straining with the weight of the towed vehicle. Butler sat back in his seat, gripping the armrests. Holly was surprised they'd found a chair big enough for the gigantic human. She leaned back and closed her eyes, suddenly tired. They had an hour long flight ahead of them; she may as well sleep on the journey.

Devlin watched the pair opposite him as the shuttle took off. Artemis was worried about Holly, that much was obvious from the way the boy kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She was resting in the chair, eyes closed. She wasn't actually asleep, because she kept twitching and adjusting to the movements of the vehicle, but that didn't stop Artemis from checking on her. The young elf wondered what was wrong with her.

Holly gradually stopped moving and fell asleep. Artemis followed soon after. Devlin opened his mouth, to talk about what he wasn't entirely certain, but Butler growled before he could make a sound. The elf squeaked and closed his mouth again. A friend to the People the human may be, but that didn't make him any less terrifying.

* * *

So, Foaly knows. Actually, everyone knows. No sneaking around, no denials, but plenty of problems.  
Skullduck: She can't give them a break, can she?  
Me: *sighs* And here I though we were going to have a chapter without your imput.  
Skullduck: It's not the same without me.  
Me: No, it's quieter. Anyway, there are two more chapters, then possibly an epilogue, then done! I was thinking of maybe doing some sort of sequel thingie, but it depends how well this turns out. Anyway, let me know what you think!

Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	12. Chapter 11

Last-but-one chapter! I'm gonna miss this, and I might do a follow-up, but not until my next epic story is done. I say epic not as in 'good' but as in 'long'. Seriously, it's like a saga. More on that later. For now, Viranaemia.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Bard family.

* * *

Holly paced the Situations room nervously, waiting for Foaly's verdict. They had returned to Haven nearly two hours ago, and the centaur had immediately brayed about getting a blood sample. He'd been too intent on the possible cure to even tease her and Artemis about the kiss. Holly had felt her stomach twist into knots at this, and rightly so. One of the serving pixies from the party had died whilst they were in the tunnels, and Grub was looking very bad. Both Holly and Artemis had given blood with minimal fuss, and Foaly had then vanished into the Ops Booth to analyse it. About half an hour ago, he'd stuck his head out the door to ask Holly to send for Number One, and the demon had been summoned. He'd responded a little too quickly, materialising from nothing in the midst of the trio and almost getting shot by an alarmed Butler and Holly. The imp had then hurried into the Ops Booth, shutting the door behind him, and no sound had come from the room in a good twenty minutes.

Artemis was getting dizzy watching Holly pace. He stood and walked in front of her, forcing her to halt mid-step.

"Relax" he said, ignoring the fluttering of panic in his own stomach. No one he really knew was in danger, but Holly's nerves were catching. "They'll figure it out."

Holly nodded but didn't look convinced, just stressed. Artemis squeezed her shoulder lightly and smiled. It was forced, but she appreciated the sentiment. Artemis wasn't good at giving comfort.

Captain Vein stuck his head around the Situations room door, beckoning to Holly.

"The Bard kid's parents are here, Commander."

"I'll be right there."

Vein had been interviewing the young elf; Holly had flat out refused to do it. The Captain was rather red – he resembled Root in colouring. Holly felt a smile twitching on her lips. It looked like two hours in the same room as Devlin had taken its toll, even on the ever-calm Captain Vein.

Vein nodded and left the room without commenting on Holly and Artemis's proximity. Actually, none of the sprites she'd passed had said anything more than 'Commander' to her. She suspected that they, like her, were worried about Trouble and Grub. Her love life took a back seat, and she was thankful.

She shrugged free of Artemis's grip.

"My communicator's on. If anything happens, call me."

She left without waiting for a reply, eager to get this over with. Technically, she should be interviewing Opal right now, but that could wait. Let the deranged pixie stew for a few hours, Holly would take care of her later. For now, she had bigger worries.

The Bard family were in her office, hugging each other tightly. A middle-aged elf woman had her arms wrapped around Devlin's shoulders, and was sobbing as if her heart was breaking. However, these were happy tears – that much was evident from the grin on her face and the tone of her voice.

"Devlin, honey, you're back! I'm never letting you out of my sight again, do you hear me? You can forget that college nonsense too! You're not leaving the house for the next decade!"

Holly smiled and paused in the doorway, not wanting to intrude on their reunion. Devlin had his arms thrown around both of his parents, and was recounting the tale of how Holly had rescued him from the trolls. Most of what he was saying was greatly exaggerated.

"There were at least sixty of them but she just zapped them with her Neutrino it was so amazingly cool I was so scared and I missed you both so much but I'm back now and I'm going to tell you all about what happened..."

Mr Bard disentangled himself from his wife's embrace and made his way over to Holly. He was quite young to be a father, maybe early hundreds, and very handsome. He shook her hand vigorously.

"Thank you so much Commander Short."

"It was nothing."

"Commander!" cried Mrs Bard, throwing her arms around Holly. "Thank you for taking care of my son!"

Holly managed to withdraw from the bone-crushing embrace before her ribs shattered. The woman had quite a grip.

"Really, Mrs Bard, it was nothing. I was just doing my job."

All this time, Devlin had been talking about his and Holly's flight to the shuttle and meeting the humans, regardless of whether or not anyone was actually listening. Maybe that was how his parents coped; by ignoring the incessant chatter. Holly knew it would drive her insane before long. Her eardrums were saved further exposure by her communicator ringing. She plucked it from her belt and answered it with a brief 'yes?'

"Foaly's done, Holly" Artemis said. She thanked him and hung up.

"I have to go now. I'm glad we were able to help you."

She left the room, gesturing to the nearest sprite, who happened to be Chix Verbil.

"See them out of the building" she said, already regretting drawing his attention. He was grinning widely, despite the serious situation they had on their hands.

"Yes Commander. Tell Artemis I said hi."

Holly ground her teeth. She was the Commander; she shouldn't be hitting her men. Then again, both Trouble and Root did. Screw it. She punched Chix in the arm, eliciting a sharp gasp of pain, and swept off down the corridor to the Ops Booth. She hoped Devlin talked Chix's ear off.

* * *

Foaly whinnied when he saw Holly reappear around Butler's bulk. The manservant was too large to actually fit into the booth along with the computers and everybody else, so he was kneeling outside peering in. He had to shuffle backwards to allow the elf to enter. She collapsed into the nearest chair and rubbed the tips of her ears.

"Talk to me, Foaly."

"You don't have to be rude, you know. It's not a requirement of Commandership."

"Now, centaur."

He sighed dramatically. Holly just glared at him.

"Fine. I've isolated the gene in young Mr Fowl's DNA. You were right, it is a human resistance. Unfortunately, it isn't compatible with fairy biology."

Holly sat upright.

"Then why is it working with me?"

"It isn't; that's my point."

Holly narrowed her eyes at him.

"Explain, please?"

"Your magic has overpowered the human genes in your system. It's mutated the DNA to make it compatible, so the resistance in your body is not the same as the human one. That's why you're still suffering some of the symptoms whilst Fowl here wouldn't be affected at all."

Artemis disliked being left out of science debates.

"That's why she's been fainting" he interpreted. Foaly nodded.

"It's also the reason her arm hasn't healed."

Holly had had enough.

"Will it work with the others who are infected?"

"Well, it is tailored to your specific genetic sequence, but theoretically I should be able to isolate the sequence, and then Number One can replicate it like he did with the lemur's brain fluid."

"I'm too tired for your science babble, Foaly. Will it work?"

The centaur sighed.

"One of these days, we're going to get a Commander who actually passed science in the Academy. Yes, Holly, it will work. In theory."

"Theory isn't good enough. Make it work." Holly stood and punched the centaur. "And I passed science, thank you very much."

Foaly rubbed his ribs where Holly's fist had made contact.

"Yes, ma'am" he replied to her retreating back, injecting as much mock pain into his tone as possible. Holly ignored him and left the booth. Foaly let his arm drop and turned to Artemis.

"Your girlfriend has quite a temper, Fowl. You sure you know what you're getting into?"

Artemis closed his eyes. He knew this was coming sooner or later. The centaur had an unholy love of mockery.

"I mean, you already know about her fists, I've seen her punch you. Quite a leap from that to kissing you. Then again, she is descended from Cupid..."

Artemis stood and followed Holly out of the Booth, Foaly's amused whinny chasing him down the corridor. He caught up with her outside an interrogation room.

"Opal?" he asked. Holly nodded and punched a complicated sequence of numbers into the pad outside the door. It opened with a hiss.

"We're going to have a little chat" she said, malice evident in her tone. Artemis saw the glint in her eyes, and was suddenly thankful that it wasn't him that she was mad at. Holly entered, closing the door behind her. Artemis moved to the glass next to the door. It was a two-way mirror that allowed him to see in whilst those inside the room would just see their own reflection. Holly glanced at the mirror before sitting in the seat opposite where Opal was shackled. She knew he was watching.

"Commander" interrupted Opal before Holly could utter so much as a syllable, "I must protest at this treatment. I have been locked in this room for almost five hours now, with no nourishment of any kind. It is most unhealthy, not to mention a breach of my rights..."

Holly's complexion reminded Artemis of Julius Root's. She stood and thumped a fist on the metal table that sat between the two. Opal shut up at once.

"You just tried to kill off the entire fairy population. Two of my officers are in hospital right now, and at least one pixie has died. You have no rights; you gave them up when you tried to murder your own people."

Artemis had expected her to shout, but he found himself having to lean close to the speaker to make out what she was saying. Her tone could have frozen the Sahara, and combined with the glare she was sending Opal, he had never seen her look scarier, or more threatening. Opal even shrank back into her chair, before remembering that she was supposed to be aloof and untouchable. Holly didn't give her a chance to recover her composure.

"I am very tempted to throw you in Howler's Peak for a century or two, but unfortunately I can't do that. It would screw the timelines up no end."

Opal looked somewhat smug at this, but Holly wasn't done yet.

"However, what I can do is tell Foaly to initiate a block mind wipe for the last, oh, year or so? Then I'm going to send you back to your own time, and let your minions handle the fallout. You can expect a significant drop in IQ, not to mention magical abilities. So, no more lightning bolts. And in the meantime, I'm going to throw you in Howler's Peak in general populous. And yes, they know what you tried to do. I don't expect they'll be too happy, do you?"

Holly pushed off the table and stalked to the door. Opal watched as she left, mouth hanging open somewhat and face pale. Speechless, for the fifth time in her life. This was _not good_.

The door shut behind Holly. She leaned against it, shaking from suppressed anger. Artemis approached her cautiously.

"Holly?"

She opened her eyes and took several deep breaths, getting her emotions back under control.

"Let's go" she said, not quite meeting his eyes. "I want to see that the others are alright."

She took two steps away from the wall before the dizziness overcame her again. She swayed, and fell into Artemis. He caught her by reflex and lowered her to the floor gently. She wasn't quite unconscious, but neither was she going to be issuing orders any time soon. The boy called to a passing sprite.

"Go to the Ops Booth and fetch Foaly."

The astounded sprite obeyed automatically, unsure what the human was doing in Police Plaza or why the Commander had swooned into his arms. Artemis stroked her hair absently until the centaur came galloping down the corridor.

"Can you do anything about this?" he asked, Holly's head still in his lap. She moaned and shifted a little. Foaly nodded and produced a tin of smelling salts from his pocket.

"I figured that this was what had happened" he explained, kneeling and waving the tin under Holly's nose. She sneezed and opened her eyes.

"The People still used those?" asked Artemis, a little incredulously. Foaly shrugged.

"It it's not broken, don't fix it."

The centaur helped Holly to her feet. She swayed again, and he grabbed her around the waist.

"Come on, Holls. Let's get you to a bunk."

Holly shook her head, attempting to escape his grasp. He held on tighter and steered her down the corridor, Artemis trailing behind.

"I'll wake you if there's any change with Trouble, I promise."

"Any of them" countered Holly. "I want to know the instant they start to recover."

"Fine" said Foaly, tone placating. He made her sit on one of the many bunks where Retrieval would while away the minutes they had between one disaster and the next, then left. He had to oversee the cure manufacture (i.e. test that it would work alright), but he told Artemis to stay with her.

"I'll send Butler down" the centaur promised as he retreated. Holly leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Thank you Artemis" she said, sounding sleepy. Artemis sat next to her on the bunk.

"What for?"

"Being there."

Her breathing got slower and more rhythmical as she dropped off. Butler walked into the room, hunched over to get through the doorway, and saw her head on Artemis's shoulder. The boy had an odd look on his face, a mixture of delight and confusion. Butler smiled. Holly would be mortified when she woke.

* * *

So, the next chapter is the last one. I will do an epilogue if anyone wants one, and please tell me if they are in character or not. And the possible sequel will be decided after I'm done with my next project, or until I hit major writers block, whichever comes first. Thanks for staying with this, and I'll update on next Tuesday.  
Skullduck: Monday. I'll make her update Monday. No need to keep the nice readers waiting.  
Me: We can't have a single chapter without you, can we?  
Skullduck: Nope. *grins*  
Me: Fine, Monday. For now, Adios!

Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	13. Chapter 12

This is the final actual chapter of Viranaemia, and is set about two weeks after teh rest of it. A strange set-up, I know, but if I continued along the same timeline, I'd have wittered on for pages about genetics adn biochemistry (I'm obsessed, sorry about that) so I thought I'd spare you all teh boring science and finish the story itself.  
Skullduck: In other words, she had no idea what to write.  
Me: Not true. I tried to exlpain genomic imprinting to you, and you fell asleep! I don't want to bore the readers.  
Skullduck: In that case, you should probably do teh disclaimer and let them red the story.  
Me: Point. Ok, I own nothing. Enjoy!

* * *

Artemis sat in his study at Fowl Manor, reading the newest email from Holly.

'_Artemis_' it read.

'_I hope you got home alright, before your parents returned. I'm sorry that I couldn't take you back myself.  
All the infected fairies made a full recovery, and it's thanks to you. I've also stopped fainting, so Foaly is (grudgingly) letting me fly again. He's still not happy about what Opal did to the last shuttle._

_Trouble's been reinstated as the Commander, so I'm back to being plain old Major. He keeps apologising, but to honest I couldn't be happier. All is right with the world again. Well, almost all._

_Trouble insisted that I take a week's leave, so I'm planning on taking full advantage of this to visit you. I know we have some things to talk about, and I'm sorry that I've been so evasive the last two weeks, but I don't want to have this discussion via a computer. I should be with you by Tuesday night, if that's alright. If not, let me know, preferably before Monday morning. The queue for visas is unbelievable, now that Foaly's reopened the chutes. Everyone wants to see the surface._

_I'm babbling aren't I? Sorry. Anyway, if I don't hear from then I'll see you on Tuesday._

_Holly  
xxx'_

Artemis sat back, smiling faintly. Holly was coming tonight. He'd received the email two days previously, and had quickly replied to say that Tuesday was fine. Butler had persuaded his parents to go to the theatre for the evening, and the twins would be in bed long before Holly got there. Butler would watch them.

He'd arrived back at the Manor two weeks previously, after the infected fairies had been given the antidote. His parents had arrived home seconds after Captain Vein had left in the shuttle, and thankfully they hadn't suspected a thing. His mother gave him a rather too enthusiastic greeting, apologising for being back late, "but the twins were having such a wonderful time, we couldn't drag them away". Artemis had told her, quite honestly, that he didn't mind in the least. The twins had then spent the last fortnight hitting their older brother with foam swords, pretending to be Captain Hook and Peter Pan. Myles even crafted himself a silver hook from tin foil, and had taken to waving it around and saying 'walk the plank!' whenever Artemis entered the room. As long as they didn't try to make him join in with their games, he didn't mind too much.

Myles chose that moment to run into the study, waving both his hook and sword threateningly at his big brother.

"Walk the plank!" he yelled, giggling. "Time for bed, Artemis! Butler coming!"

Artemis sighed and stood. Beckett followed his twin into the room, whacked both his brothers with his sword, then began to chase Myles around the room. Artemis shepherded them away from his precious computer.

Butler's enormous frame appeared in the doorway. He appeared to be wearing a pirate hat.

"Come on boys" he said, taking two steps into the room. "Time for bed."

The twins giggled manically and hid behind Artemis. Butler smiled and reached around his principal for them. They jumped and ran away, almost knocking Artemis over in their haste to escape. He grabbed Myles by the back of his t-shirt and helped Butler to escort the two boys to their room. By the time he returned to the study, Holly was perched on his swivel chair, spinning slowly in a circle. She was wearing very casual clothes; a green short sleeved t-shirt and jeans. Apparently, fairies also liked to wear denim.

"Artemis" she said, halting her motion by hooking one foot around the leg of the desk. She stood and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks again. If it wasn't for you, our entire way of life would be on the line."

"Again" completed Artemis, wondering why she'd jumped straight into business. Normally there was some kind of small talk, even if it was just 'how are you'. Holly nodded.

"Again. We make quite the team."

There was silence for a few seconds, broken by Butler entering the study.

"Artemis, the twins are in bed."

"Dom?" Holly asked, humour in her tone. "Nice hat."

Butler pulled the pirate hat from his head and greeted her. She hugged him as much as she was able.

"I'll leave you two alone" he said, leaving and shutting the door behind him.

"Tactful" noted Holly. Artemis nodded.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Arty. I told you, no more fainting. I'm over it, and so is everyone else. Trouble sends you his thanks."

"What about Opal?"

"Back in the past, where she belongs."

"Good."

There was another silence. Artemis broke it this time.

"You said in your email that there were some things that we needed to talk about."

"Yes. I did." She took a breath and ran a hand through her hair. Artemis noticed that the skin on her left forearm was once again smooth and unblemished. "I want to talk about...us."

"Maybe we should do this elsewhere" he said, gesturing to the computer. No doubt Foaly would be watching and recording. Holly got his point and followed him to the library. Once they were both sat in plush armchairs, she started again.

"I don't know how to say this. Things happened between us in Italy, Artemis, but they have to stay there. We can't carry on like that."

Artemis wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it wasn't that.

"Holly, we've been over this."

She held up a hand to stop him.

"Let me finish. This is a direct order from the Council, Artemis. We have to stop any and all romance that may be between us, or IA will take my badge."

Artemis couldn't think what to say. Holly paused for a second to let him process what she'd just said, then continued.

"I also spoke to Foaly about this and, between snide remarks, he pointed something out to me. I think his exact words were 'what the Council doesn't know won't hurt them'."

Artemis met her eyes and saw uncertainty there. She was waiting on his decision.

"So, as long as we fly under the radar, we're fine?" he clarified. She nodded. Artemis smiled and nodded,

"I can do that. I wasn't planning on telling my parents to be perfectly honest; my mother is already attempting to smother me."

Holly smiled and stood, walking over to the boy. He had to look up to meet her gaze.

"Have you grown, Holly?"

"A couple of centimetres. Like you said, the gene mix is affecting us in different ways."

She perched on the arm of his seat and looked at him.

"I can't spend much time on the surface. Trouble needs all the help he can get belowground at the moment. He's only making me take time off so I can talk to you."

"Does he know about what happened?"

"You mean did Foaly squeal about the kiss at the first chance he got? Yes, but I think the pink confetti in the Commander's office may have tipped him off first. That and the words 'Holly Fowl' pasted onto the desk."

Holly gritted her teeth and shook her head.

"I'm going to kill Chix Verbil."

"He still let you come up here?"

From the conversation he'd overheard her having with Foaly, he'd gotten the distinct impression that Trouble had a thing for Holly. She shrugged one shoulder.

"He wants me to be happy."

She leaned down and kissed Artemis gently.

"And I am."

Artemis leaned into her, but she pulled back.

"I can't stay too long. I have reservations at the nearest spa. I could do with it too after the last fortnight. I don't know how Trouble copes."

She stood and smiled at the boy.

"I'll be back before the end of the week."

He pointed to his ring/communicator.

"Call ahead. The Manor isn't fairy-friendly anymore."

Holly nodded and shielded.

"See you, Arty."

The boy felt a light touch on his cheek, then Holly was gone. He smiled and stood, walking back to his study. As he'd suspected, Foaly's face was waiting for him on the laptop.

"So, lover boy, how'd the relationship conversation go?"

Beneath the mockery was real curiosity. No doubt the centaur had discovered the lack of a camera in the library. Artemis smiled in spite of himself, and Foaly's grin actually touched his ears.

"I see, like that was it. So, now you have a real girlfriend, how're you gonna cope? Having to think of others, getting her a birthday present..."

"Birthday?" Artemis interrupted. He decided not to look too far into the '_real_ girlfriend' crack. He didn't want to know. Foaly nodded.

"Yeah, she's eighty-nine this Friday. That's why Trouble gave her the week off. That and to talk to you."

"How is Trouble?"

"Not too taken with you, but he's too busy now to care too much. Still, Holly's happy, so he won't complain too much. Why she chose a Mud Boy over the best-looking elf in Haven, Frond only knows..."

He stopped at the look of Artemis's face.

"I'm quoting, in case you were wondering. And I respect her choice – I won't say anything to the Council. Besides, this is too much fun."

Artemis rolled his eyes and began to close the connection. Foaly whinnied and hacked his way back in.

"I'm not done yet. So, Holly chose you because you've saved her life a couple of times and because she never could tell what was bad for her. What about you. Fowl? Why the elf and not the French girl?"

Artemis frowned.

"Minerva and I were only ever friends, and barely that. Why do you care so much anyway?"

Foaly frowned, all the light mockery leaving his tone.

"I can't rid myself of the feeling that you're going to break her heart. If you have any intention of letting her down, tell me now, 'cus it's gonna be me who deals with the fallout."

Artemis's glare went icy.

"I wouldn't hurt Holly."

"You kidnapped her, you lied to her, you got her stabbed on Hybras..." the centaur reeled off, counting on his fingers. Artemis cast his eyes down.

"I apologised for that. She forgave me."

"A very forgiving person, Holly, especially where you're concerned. Don't take advantage of that."

"I won't" Artemis replied, sincerity in every syllable. Foaly gave the boy an odd look. This was not the Artemis Fowl he was used to seeing. He decided to take the boy's word for now, and resumed taunting.

"So again, Fowl, why Holly?"

"Why not?" Artemis quipped, once again attempting to shut the centaur out of his system. "Like you said Foaly, she's related to Cupid."

The screen went blank. Artemis unplugged it for good measure. He recalled Holly's words from the library.

'He wants me to be happy, and I am'.

He smiled and touched the golden medallion about his neck. The coin Holly had given his for ensuring her trigger finger got reattached. True, he'd hurt her, but he'd also helped her. He'd even brought her back to life once, risking his own in the process. Before he'd met her, he'd never have done something like that.

"I am too, Holly" he muttered, letting the coin drop. "I am too."

* * *

Okay, so it's officially over! Unofficially, there will be an epilogue posted later this week. Don't read it of you don't wnat to, it has no bearing on the story itself, it's basically A/H fluff. Anyway, I tried to keep them in character in this chapter, not sure how well I managed. I though maybe Holly was a little out, but let me know how i can make it better, and I will. Thanks for sticking with this, and (hopefully) see you later for the epilogue.

Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


	14. Epilogue

Hi, we're back with teh epilogue, as promised. It doesn't really have much to do with teh story itself, it's just shameless fluff, but in the best possible way. I tried to keep them in character,let me know how well I did?  
Skullduck: Liris, why don't you just ask for reviews like a normal person?  
Me: Normal sucks.  
Skullduck: Fair enough.  
Me: Thanks for staying with this. I own nothing, enjoy!

* * *

It was almost midnight on the Friday when Artemis's communicator buzzed, rousing him from the edge of sleep. He opened his eyes and answered it, smothering his yawn in his fist. Holly wasn't fooled.

"I woke you. Sorry, I could come back at another time."

"No" he said, sitting upright and flicking his eyes around the room, as if to spot a shimmer in the air. "No, now is fine. Everyone is asleep."

"Including you" Holly muttered, but there was no bite in it. "Alright I'll be with you in about five minutes."

Artemis swung his legs off the bed and stretched. "Meet me in the library. Even if we make a noise, there's no one else on that floor to wake up."

Holly agreed and cut the connection. Artemis checked his reflection in the mirror. His hair was sticking up at the back. He attempted to flatten it, but gave up after a minute or so. Holly had seen him much more dishevelled than this before now, after all. He opened the top drawer on his desk, pulled out a small box and ran his fingers over its black velvet surface, wondering. He was sure she'd like the gift. He'd asked his mother what she thought (omitting Holly's name from the conversation), and Angeline had said that it was beautiful.

He took the box with him to the library and set it down at the small table in between two armchairs. Then he opened the window and settled into the chair on the left to wait. He didn't have to wait long. After a couple of minutes, Holly shimmered into visibility perched on the other seat.

"Hey, Arty."

"Holly. How are you? You look good."

He meant it as well. The spa and time off obviously agreed with her. She smiled and nodded.

"Thanks. You too, even if you do have bed hair."

Artemis reached up to straighten it, but Holly caught his arm.

"I like it" she said. Artemis swallowed and freed his arm, reaching for the velvet box.

"I have something for you" he said, but before he could touch the box, his ring vibrated again. He raised an eyebrow.

"Does anyone else have this number?" he asked. Holly shook her head. They came to the same conclusion at the same time.

"Foaly."

Artemis answered the phone, trying not to let his impatience show.

"Hello?"

"Fowl, there you are. In the library, I assume? How am I supposed to contact you if you're nowhere in sight?"

"Apparently you manage" the boy replied dryly. "Why did you feel the need to hack this number?"

"I sent you an email, and you haven't opened it yet. It contains Holly's birthday present. Give it to her for me, would you? I know she's there right now, don't even try to deny it."

The centaur whinnied in amusement. Artemis massaged his temples.

"Why don't you give it to her when she gets back?"

Holly raised an eyebrow. Artemis ignored her and concentrated on the centaur guffawing in his ear.

"It might interest you too, Fowl. Especially the part fifty-nine minutes in."

Foaly trailed off, laughing. Artemis got the distinct feeling that whatever this gift was, neither he nor Holly was going to be too enamoured of it. The centaur got over his giggle fit and whinnied again.

"I'll know if you don't open it, Artemis. I can keep calling this number all night, you know. It doesn't bother me."

Artemis rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll give it to her."

"That's a good human. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone then."

He started to hum 'puppy love' into the phone. Artemis hung up on him. Holly's expression halfway between curious and amused.

"What did he want?" she asked. Artemis sighed and picked the box up. He wanted time to do this properly, but that wasn't going to happen unless he appeased the irritating centaur first.

"Come on" he said, voice resigned. "Foaly wants me to give you something."

Her eyes narrowed and she remained in the chair.

"What?"

"I have no idea. He seemed to find it amusing, however."

Holly rolled her eyes.

"That centaur is enjoying this situation way too much" she said, but stood and followed Artemis to his study. He set the box down in the shadow by the laptop and opened the email programme. Sure enough, there was a message waiting for him. It wasn't particularly courteous, and made the boy grit his teeth a few times whilst reading it. Holly leant around his shoulder to read it, and swore under her breath.

"I'm going to kill that centaur when I get back" she muttered. Artemis suddenly understood why Foaly didn't want to give her the gift in person. He turned to look at her, and saw that she was blushing. Why? There was nothing that he could see in the email that was embarrassing. Well, not unless he was missing something.

"Holly?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"He shouldn't even have a copy; it's only been out in the cinemas for three weeks. It's illegal."

Artemis got the feeling that the legality, or lack thereof, of the centaur's actions was not the root of her distress.

"What is it?" he asked, curious now (which is not doubt what Foaly was going for). Holly opened her eyes and opened her mouth to explain, then closed it again.

"Oh, I can't explain. Just copy it to disk and watch it, then you'll understand."

Artemis frowned, but did as she asked. Foaly's voice rang out through the speakers as Artemis was removing the disk from the laptop.

"Aren't you going to watch it together? That was why I sent it, after all. You can cuddle up together and..."

"Foaly!" Holly shouted, fists clenched. Artemis quickly stepped to the side, out of range. Foaly chuckled again.

"Have fun, lovebirds" he sniggered, then left them in peace. Holly kicked the desk leg viciously.

"I'm going to kill that centaur."

Artemis winced as her foot connected with the desk – it was antique, and that was bound to have left a mark.

"What's the matter? It's just a film."

"About the Spiro adventure" Holly muttered, tone still homicidal. Artemis was a little surprised that the fairies would make another film about his life (he already knew of the one about the B'wa Kell uprising), but still failed to see why Holly would be acting as she was. He strode over to the computer that was connected to the projector and played the disk. Holly groaned and sat on the swivel chair.

"When I said watch it, I didn't mean when I was in the room."

She made no move to leave, however. Artemis sat in the static chair next to her as the opening credits rolled across the screen and a digital representation of himself appeared on screen. There was a scene with a digital Spiro, during which a lot of things were said and insinuated which Artemis didn't recall having taken place ever, let alone during that afternoon in London. He winced when he saw Butler get shot, though the unfeeling representation of him on the screen was not at all how it had happened. He distinctly recalled crying, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone. Fowls did not show weakness.

The screen cut to Haven, panning across the congested streets. A claxon rang, and the blast walls lowered, and several people stepped out of their cars to see what was happening. The camera zoomed in to one particular elf. Artemis felt his eyes grow wide. The elf on the screen looked somewhat like Holly, but her hair was too long, and since when was the LEP uniform that tight? Beside him, he heard Holly moan.

"That's just going to give them ideas" she grumbled. Artemis tried not to smirk.

Nothing much happened in the film from then on that wasn't accurate. Sure, some lines were completely out of context and the digitalisation of Artemis was much more cruel and uncoordinated than was true, but the events were more or less correct. Then came the rescue of Artemis from Spiro tower. Skylar cut the ceiling with a laser, as Holly had actually done, and Artemis was winched up. Then the plot went completely out of the window. Holly, who knew what was coming, groaned, but Artemis's eyes went wide with disbelief. The on-screen versions of him and Holly were being ridiculously dramatic and soppy. Then, hesitantly, they kissed. The real Holly made a noise somewhere between a snort and a groan. Artemis blinked, and recalled what Foaly had said about 'fifty-nine minutes in'. This was why Holly was mad. Artemis cleared his throat and turned to the elf sitting next to him.

"I don't recall that happening" he said. Holly's mouth twitched, but she didn't say anything. Artemis stood and knelt next to her, picking up the velvet box as he did so. He had to look up to see her face, due to her growth spurt. Holly rolled her eyes. The boy looked like he was proposing.

"I got you something for your birthday" he said and handed her the box. She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering just why he felt it necessary to do this on bended knee. She took the box from him and opened it slowly. Her expression changed from suspicion to delight.

"It's beautiful" she breathed, taking the necklace from the box. It was white gold, and had a tiny pendant hanging from it. It was emerald, in the shape of a four-leaved clover.

"They didn't have one with an acorn" he said, rising from his crouch. Holly shook her head, stood also and kissed his cheek.

"You shouldn't have, Arty."

He shrugged.

"It's your birthday, so why not?"

She smiled and allowed him to clasp it around her neck. The film continued in the background, but neither of them paid any attention to it. Artemis looked down at her.

"It suits you."

She leaned up and kissed him again. He reciprocated, and the two were lost in their own little world until an amused whinnying disrupted them. They sprang apart, ready to yell at Foaly for spying on them, but it was the film. The C-Cube was speaking with the centaurs voice. Holly rolled her eyes again.

"He got to voice his own part, for some reason" she explained. She glanced at the clock and sighed.

"I have to go, Arty. Trouble's expecting me back belowground in a couple of hours."

She claimed her wings from an empty chair and strapped them on. She pulled the cord to start them and hovered so that their faces were level.

"Thank you, Artemis" she said again, kissing his cheek. "I'll call you later."

She shielded. The window opened, then closed behind her. Artemis smiled and paused the film. On screen, the image of him and Holly hiding behind a sheet of camfoil jittered slightly. He switched the projector off and returned to his bedroom. He turned the communicator on, and Holly's voice answered almost immediately.

"You're so impatient, Fowl. I said I'd call you."

"I just wanted to say goodnight. And happy birthday."

"Goodnight Arty" she replied softly. He cut the connection and lay down on the bed, smiling. Maybe the film director wasn't too far off the mark...

* * *

So, were thay alright? Please, reveiw. Thanks so much, and that is this story officially over *sob*. I'll miss it...

Love you all.  
Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


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